In the Hands of Hatred
by Haleykim
Summary: After saving an alien race from the Galra, Team Voltron sets down on the planet for repairs. They are welcomed with open arms – until the aliens find out that Keith is Galra.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my entry for the Voltron Gen Mini-Bang over on tumblr! I had an absolute blast writing this story. Many thanks to the mods for hosting this event!**

 **My partner for this event was the lovely Mishion, who made the most AMAZING art for this fic (which you can check out here: mishion. tumblr image/163528159041 . Seriously, it's gorgeous, and I still can't believe my luck that I got partnered with her! Also, she's such a lovely person, so check out her other stuff here: mishion. tumblr**

 **As always, a very special thank you goes to the wonderful Black Friar for helping me whip this story into shape. You're the best :)**

* * *

Lance really only remembered flashes of the battle with the Galra fleet that had damaged all the lions.

It was one of the toughest battles they'd faced in the war so far. In trying to liberate planet Samoria, they'd had to take on a Galra fleet equipped with some kind of weapon they hadn't encountered before. A number of the primary vessels had had canons that were able to disable a lion with just one direct hit. They'd discovered that fact right after Keith had thrown himself and Red in front of Shiro and the Black Lion, who'd had its back turned at the time, to take the blast aimed directly at them. The scream that had reverberated through their radios still sent chills down Lance's spine.

Red had been completely dead in the water – or, well, space – and there had only been static on their comms after that. Enraged, Shiro had thrown caution to the wind and charged at the vessel that had taken Keith down, tearing through it with Black's jaw blade like a knife slicing through butter.

But the Galra ships had just kept coming and with one lion down, forming Voltron was out. On top of that, they'd had to protect the Red Lion from taking any more hits or she'd likely have been captured or even destroyed.

Thankfully, Allura and Coran had come to their aid, and together they had been able to take out the fleet – by the skin of their teeth, and thanks to some pretty awesome flying by the Blue Paladin, if Lance did say so himself – but all of the lions had sustained heavy damage and were in desperate need of repairs.

Black had had just enough juice to recover the Red Lion and get her to the castle. By the time Lance had made it to the Red Lion's hangar, Shiro was already helping Keith down Red's ramp – not that Lance had been worried about that idiot or anything, because he hadn't been – Keith's arm pulled across his shoulders and his own arm looped around Keith's waist.

Keith had been alive and conscious, but he'd looked like crap. The blast the Red Lion had taken had apparently been some kind of electrical charge that fried her internal systems. Keith's console had blown up in his face, leaving him with burns and a concussion, but after an hour in a healing pod he'd been back to his annoying self.

The same could not be said of the lions and the castle.

Allura had landed the castleship on Samoria for repairs a few vargas ago, and it looked like they weren't going anywhere for at least a few days…quintents…whatever. The Red Lion especially was going to need some work, but Coran had assured them the damage was fixable. After they'd all rested up for a while, Allura had decided they should put their downtime to good use by meeting the inhabitants of this planet: the Samorians.

Which is why – with the exception of Coran, who was staying behind to get started on the repairs – they were currently on their way to meet the Samorian Queen and her delegates. According to the Altean database the Samorians were a generally peaceful people, and Lance was looking forward to getting the opportunity to exercise his charm muscles again. Seriously, being holed up in a spaceship for days on end with barely anyone to flirt with drove him coo coo bananas sometimes. He really hoped there were some hot chicks on this planet.

Once outside the castle, Lance took in their surroundings. Allura had landed the castle in a large clearing surrounded by dark purple trees. The sky was a light grey color, cloudless, with a pale sun gleaming down at them. It didn't give off as much warmth as Earth's sun did, as the air felt rather chilly, but maybe it was just this planet's version of winter right now. The air was perfectly breathable and there didn't seem to be any nasty flying bugs around, so Lance took off his helmet and tucked it under his arm, the other paladins doing the same.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the coordinates the Queen had given them. The location turned out to be a large square at the foot of a wide, stone bridge leading to some kind of cave or tunnel. There was a large gathering of…uh…people? Lance stared. Holy quiznak, the Samorians were _huge_! At least two heads taller than both Hunk and Shiro and they were definitely bulkier than the average human.

As Lance drew closer, he realized they were humanoid, but very pale – so pale in fact that Lance could see the veins through their skin. They had cat-like pupils and long, claw-like fingers, which, okay, kinda creepy?

They didn't exactly look like the helpless species Lance had been expecting. Some of the Samorians were dressed in rather formal-looking robes – dignitaries? – while others were wearing some kind of armor, obviously soldiers or guards. Most of them had long, sheer white hair, reaching till about their middle backs, except for the soldiers, who had their hair tied back.

As Lance and the others approached, three of the Samorians stepped forward – two guards and, judging by the lavishly decorated robes the third Samorian was wearing, probably their Queen in the middle. Her hair was bright red.

As was usual in this type of meet-and-greet situations, Allura took the lead. She smiled. "Queen Ditaria of Samoria, I am Princess Allura of Altea," she began, "and these are the Paladins of Voltron."

The Queen looked at each of them in turn before returning the smile, showing rather sharp, yellowish teeth. Which, again, kinda creepy.

"King Alfor and the Lions of Voltron are legendary among my people," the Queen began. "We are honored to have his daughter walk among us, and we are forever grateful to you all for ridding us of the Galra."

And just like that, the ice was broken.

The Queen and Allura exchanged a few more pleasantries before the Queen invited them to her palace, and the rest of the crowd just kind of burst into cheers around them. Lance puffed out his chest and pulled out his most charming smile, waving at the crowd as he followed Allura, Shiro and the Samorian Queen.

There was a snort from behind him and Lance could practically _hear_ Keith's eyes roll, but Lance ignored him. Mullet boy knew nothing about enchanting a crowd or about, well, enchanting anyone really. Which was fine by Lance, because it meant more hot alien girls for _him_.

It took him a moment to realize that most of the people in the crowd were actually men, and his smile slipped a tiny bit. That was just his luck, wasn't it? Hm…maybe the girls were all inside the palace?

They crossed the bridge and passed through the short tunnel. The sight that greeted Lance on the other side took his breath away. "Holy wow," he muttered in awe as he stared at the palace before him: it had been carved into a mountain. And it was _huge_ , with pillars and turrets and everything! It was absolutely, breathtakingly _gorgeous_.

Beside him, Hunk and Pidge were gaping as well, and Lance caught even Keith and Shiro staring.

"That is- that's like- _amazing_ ," Hunk said, sounding a little breathless.

"I wonder how old it is," Pidge was muttering, probably mostly to herself. "It must've taken them _years_ to complete. Well, depending on their technology, of course-"

The Queen turned to Pidge, smiling warmly. "Our ancestors carved this palace into the mountain by hand many, many suns ago."

They did the whole thing by hand?! Holy freaking crow that made the whole structure even more impressive!

"It's beautiful," Shiro said, and the Queen inclined her head towards him.

"You flatter us, Black Paladin," she said. "It would be my honor to show you around the interior of the palace."

They followed her through a giant archway that served as the palace entrance and Lance had just started to admire the architecture inside when there was a sudden commotion behind him. He whirled around and found Keith on his back on the palace floor with a big, hulking Samorian guy on top of him pressing a blade to his throat.

"Hey!" Lance protested at the same time as Shiro exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing?"

Lance heard Shiro activate his Galra tech arm and immediately dropped his helmet and reached for his own bayard. From the corner of his eye he saw Hunk and Pidge doing the same. Lance trained his blaster on the nearest Samorian, but the Samorian in question was now also pointing its own weapon at _him_. A quick glance around told Lance they were surrounded, and he tightened his grip on his bayard.

What the hell was even happening?

"Let him go," Shiro said, voice hard and commanding.

The Samorian guy that had attacked Keith snarled, and Allura whipped around to face the alien Queen. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded.

"Raznek, hold," the Queen ordered and this time the man froze.

Keith wasn't struggling – which, thank quiznak – but Lance saw the fire in his eyes. He was _pissed_.

The Samorian Queen turned to Allura. "You have my word he will not be harmed so long as he passes inspection."

"Inspection?" Shiro practically growled, taking his eyes off of Keith and the guy straddling him for only a second to glance at her.

"Your friend set off an alarm that alerts us when a Galra enters the palace."

"Alarm? What alarm?" Lance said. "I didn't hear anything."

"It is a sound only my people can hear."

"Our _friend_ is the Red Paladin of Voltron," Allura said with a scowl, drawing herself up. She looked pretty pissed too.

"He also appears to be Galra," the Queen replied calmly. "The Galra cannot be trusted."

"He is only part-Galra," Allura replied. "He has Galra blood, but his physiology is Terran."

"We would like to decide that for ourselves, which is why he must submit to the inspection. It will only take a moment." The Samorian Queen nodded at the man straddling Keith, who clearly took this as permission to continue the "inspection", whatever that might entail. Lance kept one eye on the armed Samorian in front of him while watching what was going on with Keith with the other.

The alien pinning Keith down – Raznek? – leaned forward, getting even further into Keith's personal space. "He does not reek like a Galra," he reported. Taking Keith's jaw between his fingers, he forced his head to the side, examining Keith's skin closely. "Pale skin. No yellow eyes. Open your mouth," he ordered.

Keith stubbornly refused, glaring at the man instead.

Raznek scowled back and tightened his hold on Keith's jaw, trying to force it open, at which point Keith finally did begin to struggle. He abruptly slammed his knee up and caught the Samorian in the side, earning him a snarl, and Lance watched with baited breath as the knife the alien was still holding to Keith's throat dug in further.

Lance could practically _feel_ Shiro bristle beside him, like a bull getting ready to charge.

"Keith, please," Allura spoke up suddenly, obviously trying to de-escalate the situation. "Let him look. Please."

Keith's eyes flicked over to her, and Lance could read the betrayal in them. Lance didn't blame him. Keith wasn't big on people touching him in general and he was just supposed to let this alien dude invade his personal space like that? Not to mention the fact that the Samorian wasn't exactly being gentle about it. Lance felt his own indignation at the way his teammate was being treated bubble in his throat.

Keith clenched his teeth and stopped struggling, and after a moment unlocked his jaw, hesitantly opening his mouth a little. When Raznek pried Keith's jaw further open and stuck his fingers in his mouth, Lance balked.

"Okay, what the hell?" he exclaimed, anger flooding him now, and he heard both Pidge and Hunk voice similar protests from Shiro's other side.

"Allura," Shiro gritted out, the warning clear in his voice.

"Wait," Allura said, putting a restraining hand on Shiro's human arm.

"No fangs," Raznek concluded, before withdrawing his fingers from Keith's mouth, leaving the Red Paladin coughing and sputtering. The man finally got up off of Keith, but instead of letting him go, he dragged him to his knees, twisting Keith's arms behind him and holding onto his wrists with one big hand. The other he wrapped in Keith's hair, yanking his head back, and Lance winced when he heard Keith's neck pop.

Lance's finger twitched on the trigger of his bayard. It was really freaking hard to stand by and watch as one of their own was being manhandled like that.

The Queen approached Keith, digging her own long fingers into his jaw and tilting his head so she could take a proper look herself. Lance really kind of wished they would stop pawing Keith's face already.

"He is small for a Galra," the Queen said finally, "and I will admit he has a more…aesthetically pleasing appearance than the typical Galra male."

Lance felt his eyebrows almost disappear into his hairline at that. Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Was she saying Keith was… _pretty_? What the _quiznak_? The woman looked like she was at the very least middle-aged, skin quite heavily wrinkled. Yeah, that wasn't creepy at all.

The Queen turned to look at Allura. "Princess Allura, you trust him?"

Allura nodded, raising her chin slightly. "With my life."

Finally, the Queen nodded. "Release him."

Raznek obeyed and Keith stumbled to his feet, scowling heavily and immediately putting distance between them.

"Keith?" Shiro called, his eyes on the armed Samorian in front of him.

It took Keith a moment to reply, his fingers touching his throat. The skin there was red and irritated, but no blood had been drawn. "I'm okay."

Shiro nodded and finally lowered his arm, the rest of them following his example and standing down. The Samorians also lowered their weapons.

"I apologize for the harsh treatment, Red Paladin," the Samorian Queen said, bowing her head slightly. "We are a cautious race; we have been fooled before."

Keith folded his arms and looked away. "I get it."

Lance winced because that wasn't exactly how one might talk to a queen, alien or not, and he glanced at the woman, watching her reaction. She seemed to frown a little – it was kind of hard to tell considering she didn't have eyebrows – but inclined her head once more and then turned to Allura.

"Please, let us continue our tour."

The Queen and her delegates led the way further into the palace, and Lance gradually allowed himself to relax a little. The architecture and decoration were impressive and surprisingly modern, but there were also definitely signs of disrepair and he wondered if the Galra occupation had had anything to do with that.

He noticed Hunk was sticking close to Keith, and Lance frowned, wondering what that was about. Ever since Keith and Hunk had returned from that mission where they'd had to collect scultrite from that Weblum thing, the two of them had been on much friendlier terms, which…Lance wasn't sure how to feel about.

As they went deeper into the palace though, Lance caught some of the Samorians shooting Keith openly hostile looks and while Keith seemed to be doing his best to ignore them, his posture was stiff and the hand not clutching his helmet was balled into a fist at his side.

And suddenly Lance understood why Hunk was sticking so close to Keith. He quickened his pace a little so he was flanking Keith's other side.

Lance sighed. This was shaping up to be a very. Long. Day. And he hadn't even spotted any girls yet.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter** **2**

"Man, on a scale of one to ten on the crazy-o-meter, today ranks a solid eight point five," Pidge said, trudging into the rec room at the Castle of Lions. She had changed into her regular clothes and was rubbing her eyes with one hand, holding her glasses in the other.

Shiro was inclined to agree with her. But thankfully, the rest of their visit had gone a lot better, and Allura and the Samorian Queen had agreed to start preliminary talks of forming an alliance.

"I'll say," Lance said, yawning and stretching his arms above his head. "I'm beat. I need to go get my beauty sleep if I'm gonna look my best at the party tomorrow. Good night, everybody."

The party. Shiro grimaced. The Queen had invited them to a party in their honor tomorrow afternoon. Something Shiro wasn't particularly looking forward to, because for him it usually meant accompanying Allura while she applied her diplomatic skills and negotiated all kinds of alliances and trade deals. She was good at it and Shiro admired her for it, but it wasn't really his thing.

"We should probably all get some rest," Shiro said, glancing at Keith, Hunk and Pidge. "It's been a long day."

"Actually, I think I'll go see if Coran needs a hand with repairs," Hunk replied. "He's been at it all day."

"Oh, good idea!" Pidge piped up, face brightening. "I'll come with you. Night, guys."

"Don't stay up too late," Shiro called after them.

Hunk gave them a wave and then both he and Pidge were out the door, leaving Keith and Shiro alone in the room. Shiro glanced at Keith. He was sitting on a table, his feet on a chair and his back to Shiro, staring out one of the windows.

Shiro felt a sudden pang of sympathy. Keith had had a particularly rough day.

"Hey," Shiro said, making sure to announce his approach before putting a hand on Keith's shoulder. "You okay?"

Keith glanced at him before returning his gaze to the windows. It was pitch-black outside. "I'm fine."

Shiro frowned. Keith looked paler than usual and his eyes were a little sunken; he clearly wasn't fine, but getting him to admit it was about as hard as retrieving a Yalexian pearl.

"You had a rough day," Shiro tried again.

Keith shrugged, arms folded tightly against his chest. "I've had worse."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean you're not allowed to feel a little…off right now."

Keith glanced at him again. "I'm fine, Shiro. Really."

Shiro suppressed a sigh and followed Keith's gaze to the windows. He paused when he realized that what Keith was staring at was his own reflection, and suddenly it hit Shiro what was probably bothering Keith. The Samorians questioning Keith's loyalty and trustworthiness because he was Galra when he was still struggling to come to terms with his heritage couldn't have been easy.

He tried a different tack. "By the way, thanks for saving me from that blast the Galra ship had aimed at me."

That made Keith smile a little. "You're welcome."

"Although next time I'd really rather you rescue me without almost getting yourself killed."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Like you wouldn't have done the exact same thing for me, for any of us."

Keith knew him far too well. "Okay, but Black's a lot sturdier than Red; she can take a few hits."

"I didn't really have much time to think about it. I just reacted."

Shiro gave his shoulder a squeeze and smiled at him, making sure Keith knew he wasn't chastising him. "I know."

Keith's posture relaxed a little.

"You gonna turn in soon?" Shiro asked.

As if on cue, Keith's jaw split open in a yawn, and Shiro chuckled. "Should I take that as a yes?"

"No," Keith deadpanned, then smiled when Shiro raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Yes."

"Good," Shiro said, giving Keith's shoulder a pat before turning and heading for the door. "See you tomorrow. Good night."

"Night."

oOo

The next day was mostly spent working on getting the castle and the lions operational again. Hunk and Pidge once again assisted Coran with repairs, while Keith and Lance were put to work cleaning up broken pieces and debris that had crashed to the floor in several sections of the castle during the battle with the Galra fleet.

Shiro and Allura spent a few hours discussing the terms of an alliance with the Samorians – they would probably start proper talks at the party tonight so they would need to be prepared.

"What's the status of the lions and the castle?" Shiro asked when they all gathered for lunch.

"The castle should be back up and running soon," Coran reported. "It didn't sustain nearly as much damage as the lions. Most of the lions' exterior damage has been repaired, thanks to Hunk and Pidge's combined efforts, but I'm afraid it will still be a while before they're back online. Internal systems are tricky and sometimes it's the lions themselves that have to do most of the repairs."

"Even so," Allura said with a smile, "thank you Coran, Pidge and Hunk for being so dedicated in your efforts to get both the castle and the lions in tip-top shape again."

"Hey! What about me, Princess?" Lance piped up. "I spent all morning picking up Keith's slack!"

Keith whipped his head around so fast Shiro worried he'd give himself whiplash. "What?! _I_ wasn't the one slacking off! All _you_ were doing was complain!"

"Yeah, I was complaining about _you_ slacking off!"

"Guys," Shiro interjected before their argument got out of hand. "I'm sure you _both_ worked hard. I'll come by later to check on your progress."

Lance and Keith glared daggers at each other, but at least the bickering stopped.

A few hours later they were on their way to the Samorian palace. None of them were particularly excited about attending the party as the Samorians' initial treatment of Keith had soured their opinions of the Samorians a little – despite the fact that the rest of the palace tour and their interactions with the Queen and her delegates had been fairly pleasant.

Keith especially seemed more withdrawn than usual, and Shiro didn't blame him.

They received a very warm welcome and were immediately taken to the main hall that had been decked out in all kinds of lavish, colorful ornaments and decorative tapestries. A number of long tables were set up along the walls, plates of food covering pretty much the entire surface of each of the tables. The smells that wafted towards him made Shiro's mouth water.

Beside him, both Hunk and Lance were practically drooling.

"Oh man, oh _man_ , that smells so good. Sooooo good!" Hunk said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

After a brief ceremony to honor Allura, Shiro and the other paladins – during which Shiro felt distinctly uncomfortable – Queen Ditaria led Shiro and Allura to a slightly more secluded table in the corner of the hall while the other paladins mingled. Before Shiro knew it, he and Allura were neck-deep into talks about an alliance.

He hoped that at least the other paladins were having a good time.

oOo

"Okay, so, for the record: just 'cos something looks and smells good, it doesn't mean it actually tastes good," Lance was saying as they trudged back to the castle later that day. "Those things that kind of looked like cupcakes? They tasted like minced eyeballs or something!"

Pidge raised an eyebrow. "Lance, how would you even know what minced eyeballs taste like?"

"I thought those cupcake thingies were actually kind of tasty, you know, in an exotic sort of way, but did you guys try those round pizza things? Man, they were _vile_!" Hunk said with a shudder. "And don't even get me started on the sauces they used! It was like they soaked everything in blood or something!"

Shiro chuckled. He hadn't actually gotten to try many dishes, but the ones he had tried had been pretty nasty and he'd had to choke them down to avoid offending Queen Ditaria. Spitting out their food definitely would not have been polite.

They'd stayed at the party for a few hours, but Shiro had thought it wise to make sure they didn't get caught outside on an alien planet in the dark while making their way back to the castle. Since the sun was already starting to set – the days on this planet were definitely shorter than on Earth – Shiro had decided it was time to leave.

Shiro glanced over his shoulder at Keith, who was lagging behind a little and staring up at the sky as he followed. Shiro grimaced. He'd meant to keep an eye on Keith during the party, but he'd gotten so absorbed in the talks with the Queen that he'd only managed to glance around the hall a few times. And then Allura had been called away by Coran, which had left Shiro in charge of upholding diplomatic relations.

He hung back a little so he could walk beside Keith, and gave him a sidelong glance. "Hey, everything alright?"

Keith tore his eyes away from the sky, which was slowly turning a soft orange, to look at Shiro. "Fine. Why?"

"You seem a little subdued."

Keith shrugged. "Just enjoying the peace and quiet out here. You know I'm not a fan of parties."

"True," Shiro conceded, then frowned as something else occurred to him. "Did the Samorians give you anymore grief about being Galra?"

Keith shrugged. "It was fine."

Shiro's frown deepened. "That's not what I asked."

"Most of them were friendly."

Most of them? Shiro sighed. "Keith-"

 _"Pidge!"_

Shiro's head jerked up at Lance's shout just in time to watch Pidge fall. Then Lance went down and Shiro was moving before he was even aware of doing so, heart pounding. Keith already half a step ahead of him. Hunk was still standing, but he had a hand at his neck and he was swaying dangerously, fumbling for his bayard with his other hand before he too went down.

Shiro's mind was racing. What the hell was going on? Were they under attack? Was this an ambush? "Keith! Shield!" he hollered. Keith had already reached Hunk's side, but the moment Shiro saw Keith's hand fly to his neck, he knew it was too late. A second later, something bit into his own neck, just below his ear, and Shiro cursed himself for not putting on his helmet.

He reached up and yanked out what looked like some kind of dart. Whatever it was laced with, the effects were instantaneous; numbness was spreading throughout his body and he was already having trouble staying on his feet, extremities tingling. A few feet away, Keith was on his knees, struggling to stay upright, but he was listing and when their eyes met, Shiro saw his own helplessness reflected in them.

Keith fell and Shiro desperately tried to reach him, but he only made it a step before his own knees buckled. The next thing he knew he was lying face down on the ground. With a monumental effort he managed to turn his head to the side and saw Keith lying near him, on his stomach, eyes closed.

Then there were sounds, voices, and Shiro tried to lift his head off the ground, but couldn't. Behind Keith's still form, tall, humanoid creatures stepped into view and Shiro clenched his teeth when he identified them as Samorians. Two of them leaned down to seemingly check on Lance and Pidge and a third shook Hunk's shoulder. Then all three of them made their way over to him and Keith.

"The Black Paladin is still awake," he heard one of them say.

"Do not harm him. He will not be able to stop us."

 _Stop you from doing what?_ Shiro wondered sluggishly, still trying to fight the drug.

Then one of the Samorians kicked Keith in the side and Shiro's blood turned cold.

"Galra scum," the Samorian growled, giving Keith another vicious kick.

Keith didn't respond and despite the fact that Shiro could feel himself succumb to the drug, anger surged in his veins. _Leave him alone_ , he wanted to yell at them, but he couldn't get his tongue to move or his lips to part.

"Save it for when he is awake to feel it," one of the other Samorians said, ignoring Shiro completely.

Darkness was closing in fast now, but he forced his eyes open, watching the Samorians tie Keith's hands behind his back before lifting him up and dragging him out of Shiro's line of sight.

Oh god, they were taking Keith!

 _No! Damn it! No!_

Shiro wanted to scream, but his eyes closed, darkness swallowing him up completely.


	3. Chapter 3

Something hard was digging uncomfortably into Keith's stomach, and judging by the way his blood was rushing to his head, he was hanging upside down. He was slung over someone's shoulder, he realized with a start.

Then suddenly he was falling and tried to throw out his hands to break his fall, but they were trapped behind his back and he landed hard on his butt, jarring pain lancing up his spine. Whoever had been carrying him had just dumped him on the floor like a sack of meat.

Keith barely had time to recover before his arm was grabbed in a crushing grip and he was being dragged forward, shins and knees scraping along the ground – he was glad he was at least still wearing his armor. He tried to get his feet under him but whatever he'd been drugged with was still wearing off and he was having trouble getting his limbs to move. Craning his neck, he tried to see where he was, but all he could really make out was that he was in some kind of room that was poorly lit and smelled kind of dank.

Someone shoved him face-first onto the floor. He managed to turn his head just in time to avoid bashing his nose, but ended up with a scraped cheek instead. Before Keith had a chance to gather himself, someone grabbed him by the hair and yanked him to his knees, pulling him back and securing his hands to a pillar behind him. The hand in his hair tightened and the next thing he knew, pain exploded in his head as it was slammed back into the pillar.

By the time he'd managed to blink away the stars dancing in front of his eyes, he was alone.

Leaning back against the pillar, Keith took a moment to catch his breath and take stock. His head was pounding and for some reason his side was throbbing, but he seemed okay otherwise. He was slowly regaining control of his limbs, though the pins and needles sensation was uncomfortable.

What the hell was going on?

The last thing he remembered was the party at the Samorian palace… Wait. They'd been on their way back to the castle, hadn't they? And then…they'd been ambushed! Where was his team? Had they been taken too?

Keith scowled and tested his bonds. He needed to get out of here and find Shiro and the others. It felt like his captors had used some kind of rope or vine, but there wasn't much give. Keith's scowl deepened when he realized they'd taken his Marmora blade – he would have to get that back from them; he was _not_ losing it – but they'd probably thought that had been his only weapon.

He twisted as far as his body would allow, almost folding himself in half and exacerbating the throbbing in his side, but he finally managed to summon his bayard. Carefully holding it away from his body, he activated it and felt a thrill of relief to have the familiar weight of his sword in his hand. If he angled it just right he might be able to saw through his restraints and free himself.

Preferably without impaling himself on his own bayard. Or slitting his wrists.

Despite the fact he was still wearing his gloves and wrist guards, his hands were slippery with blood by the time he managed to cut through his bonds. He hadn't been able to see what he was doing and it had been incredibly difficult to maneuver the large sword when his hands were tied; the blade was so sharp it had sliced through anything it touched, including his gloves and skin. He didn't think the cuts were too deep though, so he ignored his stinging hands and quickly got to his feet to inspect the door that appeared to be the only way out of this room.

It was locked, of course, and there didn't seem to be a keyhole or any kind of console on Keith's side of the door. The door was made of something that was akin to metal; it was thick and solid so there was no way he'd be able to cut through it with his bayard. He supposed he could try kicking it down, but he had no idea if there were any guards stationed outside and the noise would probably attract unwanted attention.

Keith did a quick inspection of the cell to check for any weak spots, but wasn't surprised when he didn't find any.

Okay, so what were his options?

He could pretend to still be tied to the pillar and pounce on whoever got close enough when they came for him…or he could take up position beside the door and strike as soon as someone entered, hopefully catching them by surprise. The latter move was risky since he didn't really know what he was up against. The guy – assuming it had been a guy – that had been carrying him was big, but that was really all he'd been able to glimpse. It seemed likely his captor was Samorian, but he couldn't be a hundred percent sure.

Pretending to still be tied to that pillar made him a sitting duck though. He'd rather take the fight to them, come at them fast and hard so they wouldn't know what hit them.

That was assuming that they _would_ be coming back for him and they weren't just going to leave him here to starve.

But that was unlikely. If they had just wanted him dead, they wouldn't have kidnapped him.

So, he just had to wait. Which…wasn't exactly his forte.

He ended up alternating between leaning back against the wall beside the door and pacing the length of the cell, which was about eight by eight feet. Knowing he should probably conserve his energy – there was no telling when there might be an opening for him to do anything – he tried sitting down a few times to rest. His pounding head and throbbing side appreciated it, but the rest of him didn't and he often found himself back on his feet and pacing.

It was a while before he heard footsteps approach and Keith quickly took up position beside the door.

He waited till a pair of feet was just inside the door before dropping and sweeping their legs out from under them with a kick. His opponent went down hard and Keith risked a quick look over his shoulder to see if back-up was coming, before he threw himself onto the alien – who was indeed Samorian – and pressed his blade to the back of the alien's neck.

"Where are the other paladins?" Keith hissed.

The Samorian growled. "They are not here."

"What have you done with them?"

"They are unharmed. Our issue is with you, _Galra_ ," the Samorian spat.

So that was why they kidnapped him? Because he was Galra? Great. He hoped that at least meant Shiro and the others were safe.

Keith increased the pressure on his blade slightly. "How do I get out of here?"

The Samorian snarled at him and Keith guessed that meant the guy wasn't going to tell him. Fine. Better not waste anymore time then. He slammed the hilt of his bayard down onto the back of the Samorian's head and moved to the door as soon as the alien went limp beneath him.

The doorway led to an empty corridor. His cell seemed to be almost at the end of it, so he went right, keeping low and holding his bayard at the ready. He passed a few other doors on either side but when he tried a few of them they wouldn't open so he just kept moving. It was only a matter of time before he was discovered or they realized he was missing.

It didn't take long. He'd only barely made some headway when a high-pitched noise screamed down the corridors and he winced, the sound grating on his ears. There was no time to find a hiding place as several Samorians spilled into the hallway, spotting him instantly.

If the Samorians had long-range weapons or more of those paralytic darts he was done for, unless he got in close _fast_.

So he charged.

He reached the first Samorian before the man had even managed to whip out whatever weapon he was carrying. Ducking low under an outstretched arm, Keith drove his elbow into the guy's gut and sliced the back of another Samorian's knee with his bayard before delivering a roundhouse kick to the first man's jaw, sending both aliens sprawling with howls of pain.

Reinforcements arrived, and Keith spun and slashed and kicked and parried and dodged, losing himself in the dance. He lost track of how many Samorians he took down and ignored the pain of the blows he received in return. The aliens had a significant advantage in height and weight, but Keith was quick and agile, his anger making his punches and kicks more powerful.

The Samorians weren't particularly skilled fighters; they seemed to rely heavily on their bulk and obviously didn't train all that much in hand-to-hand combat.

For a moment Keith thought he might make it out. There were only two Samorians left standing in front of him; beyond them, the corridor was empty. It seemed they were out of reinforcements. For the moment.

But then there was a sudden sting in his neck and Keith wanted to scream with frustration.

 _No!_ No, dammit, he was _so close_!

With a monumental effort, Keith raised his hand to yank out the dart, the drugs it was laced with already taking effect.

Without warning, his legs were swept from under him and he crashed onto his back. Dark shapes were coming at him, followed by multiple heavy kicks and punches that took his breath away. Keith tried to roll onto his side, to curl in on himself and to raise his arms to protect his head from the blows that were raining down on him now.

But it was like his brain had been disconnected from the rest of his body; none of his limbs were responding and all he could do was grit his teeth against the pain.

And then there was no pain at all. Only blackness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Lance sat up slowly, struggling to get his limbs to respond, body tingling unpleasantly. To his left, Pidge was already sitting up, rubbing her face.

"What the freaking quiznak?" Lance groaned. "Did we seriously just get ambushed?"

"I knew it!" Hunk exclaimed from his other side, eyebrows drawn down in a rare frown as he propped himself up on his elbows. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted those guys!"

"Who?" Pidge demanded.

"The Samorians! I didn't see much but I'd recognize that long white hair anywhere!" Hunk said, still scowling.

"Shiro!" Pidge called suddenly, climbing to her feet and making her unsteady way over to the black and white figure that was lying a few feet away from them. Lance and Hunk exchanged glances and then lurched to their feet to join her.

Shiro was still unconscious, lying on his stomach, but he seemed okay. Probably just drugged, like the rest of them. When Pidge reached out to shake Shiro's shoulder he stirred at her touch.

Okay, so that was four paladins accounted for… That left them one short. As Hunk and Pidge fussed over Shiro, Lance glanced around for any sign of Keith. He spotted Keith's helmet abandoned on the ground a few steps away, but Keith himself was nowhere to be seen.

Quiznak.

Lance cleared his throat, his mouth suddenly a little dry. "Uh…guys? Where's Keith?"

Both Hunk and Pidge looked back at him, startled, before throwing their gazes around.

"Uh…maybe he went after whoever attacked us?" Hunk suggested, but he sounded like he didn't believe it himself.

Lance shook his head. Keith was reckless and a _terrible_ team player, but he never would have left the rest of them defenseless. Not unless he'd been forced to.

"Pidge?" Shiro muttered suddenly and Lance glanced back to see him struggling to sit up. "Lance? Hunk? What's going on? Are you guys alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Pidge replied, turning her attention back to Shiro. "You okay?"

Shiro raised a shaky hand to rub at the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'm alright."

"Do you remember what happened?" Lance asked.

Shiro started to shake his head, but a second later he aborted the motion and his eyebrows knit together. "Ambush." Another second and then his eyes widened. "Keith!"

"He's- he's missing," Hunk said, "do you know what happened to him?"

Shiro's jaw set and he staggered to his feet. "They took him. We've got to get to the castle. Now." He snatched his helmet up off the ground and set off at a wobbly jog, clearly still a little affected by the drugs in his system. Lance, Pidge and Hunk scrambled to catch up, Lance pausing to grab Keith's helmet as well.

"Wait, hold up, why would they want to take Keith? I mean, they could've taken all of us too, why would they just leave us here?" Hunk asked, already a little breathless.

"Duh, isn't it obvious? It's 'cos he's Galra," Lance replied, falling into step beside Shiro. "I mean, it would have to be, right? Those guys have been hostile towards him from the start. Why else would they grab him?"

"We don't even know if it's the same guys though," Pidge piped up, trailing a little behind. "I mean, they might be Samorians, but for all we know it's some kind of militia or rebel group or something."

"Lance is right," Shiro said, and Lance resisted the urge to preen at the praise. Now really wasn't the time. "I heard them call Keith 'Galra scum' before they took him. They kicked him while he was already unconscious, but when they saw that I was still awake, they left me alone. It has to be because he's Galra."

"Wait, they kicked him when he was _unconscious_?" Hunk said in between breaths. "Oh, that's low."

Shiro nodded but said nothing. Lance snuck a look at his face, and swallowed. He'd never seen Shiro so angry before.

They made it back to the castle in record time, and found Allura and Coran in the control room. Lance, Hunk and Pidge almost tripped over each other trying to be the first to tell them what had happened. When Allura just stared at them with raised eyebrows, Shiro took the lead.

"We were attacked on the way back to the castle. They've taken Keith."

"What?! _Who_?" Allura demanded.

"The Samorians."

"The Samorians?" Coran exclaimed. "Are you sure?"

Lance rolled his eyes. "Tall, pasty dudes with long, white hair? Yeah, pretty sure."

"But why would they do that? What are their motives?" Coran asked.

"Well, we didn't exactly get a chance to ask them, because, you know, we were all kind of unconscious," Hunk said, "but Shiro heard them call Keith Galra scum so we think it's 'cos he's Galra."

Something flashed across Allura's face, but it was gone too quickly for Lance to identify the expression before Allura narrowed her eyes. "Do you mean to tell me that while they were throwing us a party to show us their 'undying gratitude', they were secretly scheming to kidnap one of my paladins?"

"It would seem that way," Shiro replied, his anger clearly audible in his voice.

Allura's entire demeanor changed: she drew herself up to her full height and straightened her shoulders, her eyes ablaze. Her voice was glacial when she said, "Coran, contact the Samorians."

Oh yeah, she was _livid_.

"Right away, Princess," Coran replied.

It took quite a bit of harsh demanding before the Samorian Queen finally appeared on the screen in front of them – bureaucracy was apparently a thing no matter where in the universe you went.

"Princess Allura, how-"

"My paladins were attacked on their way back from your palace, Queen Ditaria," Allura cut across her. "The Red Paladin was taken prisoner. I demand his immediate release."

Lance's eyebrows jumped up. Diplomacy had been a cornerstone of Allura's upbringing, but she sure could be direct when she wanted to be.

For a moment the queen looked completely flabbergasted, but she recovered quickly. "Princess Allura, I know nothing of this attack and I do take offense that you would so readily believe that my people are responsible."

"My paladins identified their attackers as Samorians, Queen Ditaria," Allura said. "Am I to understand that you are not the ruler of all Samorians?"

The Queen looked away for a moment, glanced at something – or someone – off-screen, before returning her gaze to Allura. "Princess Allura, please allow me to look into this. I will contact you as soon as I have news."

Allura studied her for a few long ticks. Then she raised her chin. "Very well," Allura said finally, and Lance was struck by how regal she suddenly looked. "I do not believe I need to remind you of what is at stake here, Queen Ditaria. The capture of the Red Paladin could have serious consequences for the Samorians' alliance with Voltron."

The Queen inclined her head. "I understand."

The screen went dark.

Lance frowned. "Wait, that's it?" he said, turning to Allura and the other paladins. "What, so we're just gonna sit here on our collective butts till she gets back to us? If she even gets back to us? Who knows what they're doing to Keith right now! We need to do something!"

"And we will," Shiro responded. "Coran, what's the status of the lions?"

"Still offline, I'm afraid. The black and yellow lions might finish repairs in a few more vargas since they sustained the least damage, but it's hard to tell with internal systems."

"Okay, so the lions are still out. Pidge−"

"Already on it, Shiro," Pidge interrupted, and Lance turned to see her furiously typing away on one of the consoles. "I'm scanning the planet for Keith's armor. Coran told me our armor is made of an alloy native only to Altea, so I'm calibrating the sensors to see if they can pick up traces of it on the planet."

"Good work, Pidge. In the meantime, Hunk, Lance, we'll grab a couple of shuttles and do a fly-over. Maybe we can get a visual on something."

"I'm sorry, Shiro," Allura said, "but I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Look outside. Night has fallen and since this planet has no moon it's pitch-black out there. You won't be able to see anything."

Lance balked. "What, so we have to wait till morning? We don't even know how long the nights are on this planet!"

"We didn't pay much attention to that on our first night here," Coran admitted, "but given the velocity with which this planet revolves around its sun, the nights are probably about fifteen vargas."

 _"Fifteen vargas?!"_

Shiro's hands clenched into fists. "There has to be something we can do." He turned to Pidge, who was staring intently at the screen in front of her, still pressing the occasional button. "Pidge, got anything yet?"

Pidge shook her head. "Not yet. Well, not really. I have something, but there's some kind of interference messing with the castle's sensors. Like part of the planet is shielded somehow. It's gonna take me a while to work around it. Sorry."

Shiro placed his human hand on Pidge's shoulder. "It's okay, Pidge. I know you're doing the best you can. " Shiro turned to Lance and Hunk. "You two go get some rest. There's nothing you can do here and I'll need you to be ready to go at first light."

Lance and Hunk exchanged a glance, before Lance turned back to Shiro. "Fine. What are you going to do?"

Instead of answering Lance directly, Shiro looked over at Coran. "Coran, we were drugged with some kind of paralytic agent. Can you draw some of my blood and analyze it?"

"Of course, Number One, are you feeling any ill effects?" Coran asked, looking concerned.

"No, it's just a precaution."

Coran nodded. "Very sensible."

"We'll be in the infirmary," Shiro told them as he and Coran moved towards the door. "Allura, Pidge, call me the second you have something."

"Will do," Pidge replied for the both of them, absentmindedly adjusting her glasses. She didn't look away from the screen.

"Yeah, let us know too, okay?" Lance spoke up. He'd be damned if they'd just let him snooze away while stuff was happening. "Keep us in the loop."

On their way to their respective rooms, both Lance and Hunk were silent. It was kind of weird. Lance stole a look at Hunk. Hands curled anxiously in front of his chest, shoulders drooping and head down. The poor guy looked exhausted and, frankly, pretty freaked.

"Hey, you okay, Hunk?" Lance asked him as they rounded a corner.

"Yeah. Yeah," Hunk replied slowly, before he started to shake his head and the floodgates opened. "No. You know what? No, this is all kinds of messed up, dude. These crazy people just took Keith right from under our noses! What the quiznak, man? That's just- it's- it's uncool, that's what it is! I mean, how are we ever gonna trust anyone again? And what the hell are they doing to him? What if they're torturing him? What if he's−?"

"Whoa! Hey! Hunk, buddy, calm down!" Lance interrupted, grabbing Hunk by the shoulders in an effort to avert a meltdown. "Look, I'm worried too, okay? But we've got to stay positive. We'll find him."

Hunk took a deep breath before raising his head to look Lance in the eye. "Yeah, but…will he still be alive?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The next morning at breakfast, Shiro glanced around at the others and concluded every single one of them looked as wrecked as he felt. None of them appeared to have gotten any sleep, heavy bags under their eyes.

Shiro couldn't blame them. After he'd gotten his blood tested – no anomalies found – he'd paced around the control room anxiously waiting for news until Allura had finally ordered him to get some rest. Pidge hadn't been able to penetrate the shielding, but a scan of the unshielded areas of the planet hadn't turned up any signals, so at least those sections could be ruled out. That narrowed the search area down to a few hundred square miles. It wasn't as bad as having to do a planet-wide search, but that was still a hell of a lot of ground to cover. If only the Red Lion had been operational; she no doubt would've been able to zero in on Keith straight away – shielding or no.

Unfortunately, all the lions were still out of commission.

Shiro spent the rest of the night either lying awake, tossing and turning, worrying about what Keith was going through, or being plagued with nightmares. Most of them featuring Keith in the starring-role, some featuring himself.

They hadn't heard from the Queen.

Both Hunk and Lance had been rearing to go as soon as it was light enough outside to be able to see more than three feet in front of them, but Shiro made them eat something first. They needed to keep their strength up if they were going to be of any help to Keith at all.

It had been almost twenty vargas since Keith was taken. Shiro wondered not for the first time how he was being treated.

They had just finished choking down their breakfast when Allura's urgent voice called them to the control room. Shiro bolted. The clatter behind him, followed by pounding footsteps, told him the other paladins weren't far behind.

Allura was talking to the Samorian Queen, whose face was up on the overhead screen, and Shiro skidded into the control room just in time to catch what the Queen was saying.

"-the Red Paladin has been taken by an extremist rebel group. In order to prevent our entire civilization from being destroyed by the Galra, I have had to make certain…arrangements with them. Some factions disagree with my methods and they have formed rebel groups that have a more radical approach to fighting the Galra."

Shiro honestly couldn't care less about the politics on this planet. "Do you know where they are? Where they're keeping Keith?"

The Queen shook her head and Shiro's heart plummeted. "I do not. However, I have dispatched my most experienced scouts to pursue their trail. I am confident they will find the location of the Red Paladin."

"What are the extremists going to do to him?" Shiro asked.

The Queen's gaze shifted for a fraction of a second. "I am afraid they will kill him."

Pidge gasped and both Lance and Hunk let out a high-pitched, " _What?!_ ", but Shiro ignored them, trying to fight back his own panic. "No. No, that doesn't make sense. They could've killed him when they attacked us, why take him alive?"

The Queen sighed, her expression regretful. "Because they want their followers to be able to witness his death, the death of a Galra."

"They want a freaking audience?!" Lance exclaimed, eyes wide.

"I am deeply sorry," the Queen continued, and she looked it. "I hope this will not negatively impact our alliance."

Shiro clenched his fists and felt a muscle tick in his jaw. Keith's life was in danger and this woman was worried about her precious alliance?!

Before Shiro could voice his anger, Allura spoke up, voice cold as ice, "That shall depend on whether or not the Red Paladin is returned to us alive."

The Queen looked momentarily taken aback, but recovered quickly. "I will contact you once my scouts have determined his location."

As soon as the screen went dark, Shiro turned to his fellow paladins. They looked scared. "Okay, let's get to the shuttles. We've got a lot of ground to cover and we need to do it before the sun sets again and it gets too dark for us to see anything."

The fear in their expressions was replaced by determination as they spun on their heels and raced for the shuttle bay.

"I'm coming with you," Allura said, already moving to the door.

"Actually, Princess," Coran interrupted. "I could use your help synthesizing an antidote or vaccine for that paralytic agent the Samorians used on the paladins when they were attacked."

"That's a good idea, Coran," Shiro replied, pausing just inside the door, "we'll need it."

Allura looked torn for a moment. "Very well," she decided at last, then turned to meet Shiro's gaze. "Good luck."

Shiro nodded. "You too," he replied, before taking off at a run. 

oOo 

Three vargas into the search and Shiro was about ready to conclude it was hopeless. The search area was just too vast and the vegetation too dense to be able to spot anything from the air. On top of that, however the extremists were shielding the area, it rendered the shuttles' sensors virtually useless.

Shiro pounded the dashboard with his fist. "Damn it!"

"Shiro?" Lance said, sounding uncertain.

Shiro took a breath and closed his eyes for a moment. He had to keep it together, if not for himself then at the very least for his team. For Keith.

Keith had been in enemy hands for about twenty-four vargas now. It was hard not to think about what the extremists might be doing to him, of the damage that may have already been done.

Twenty-four vargas was plenty of time to kill someone. Slowly.

Shiro scowled at himself. _Enough with the fatalistic thoughts. Get. It. Together. They're counting on you._

"Sorry," Shiro said. "Just stubbed my toe. It's fine."

"Shiro, do you read?" Allura's voice crackled in his ears suddenly.

"I read you, Princess. I hope you have some good news."

"The Black and Yellow lions are back online, and it looks like the Blue lion will be up and running soon as well."

"All right!" Lance's voice whooped over the comms. "Black, Yellow and Blue to the rescue, baby!"

Hope sparked in Shiro's chest. Maybe the lions' sensors would be able to pick up something. "That _is_ good news. Thanks, Allura, we're heading back to the castle now."

"Have you found anything?"

"Nothing."

The silence on the other end lasted just a moment too long. "All right," Allura said, unable to hide the disappointment in her voice. "See you at the castle."

It took them about twenty dobashes to return to the castle. Once his shuttle had docked, Shiro practically leaped from the cockpit in his haste to get to his lion – he spotted the other paladins doing the same. They were intercepted, however, by Allura and Coran, who were rushing to meet them. "Queen Ditaria has just contacted us," Allura said, sounding a little breathless. "They know where Keith is being held."

"Are you serious?" Pidge asked. "They actually came through for us?"

"Who cares!" Lance exclaimed. "We've got to get back out there!"

Hunk turned to Lance. "Yeah, but, we don't even know if we can trust her! I mean, she has no idea what half her people are even up to and-"

"Hunk's right," Shiro interrupted. "We don't know if we can trust her, but she's giving us a lead and it's the only one we have right now. We don't have a choice."

Allura nodded. "Agreed. They haven't shown any ill will towards the rest of you; their issue seems to be with Keith alone."

"Great, so can we go already?" Lance asked, gesturing impatiently. "Keith's running out of time!"

"Allura, did they give you the coordinates?" Shiro asked, trying to suppress his own impatience.

Allura nodded. "They are the coordinates to the location of her scouts. They will take you to wherever Keith is being held. Apparently the canopy is too thick for the lions to penetrate, so you will have to land in a nearby clearing and the scouts will take you the rest of the way."

"Oh, yeah, right, of course," Hunk muttered. "So, we can't bring the lions. Like that's not suspicious at all."

Shiro turned to Hunk and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hunk, I promise I hear what you're saying. I don't trust them anymore than you do. But we can't find Keith on our own. We need them. Are you with us?"

Hunk stared at him, and Shiro watched him visibly get a handle on his nerves. "Yeah. Yeah, of course I'm with you guys."

Shiro patted his shoulder. "Good." He turned to Allura and Coran. "Did you manage to synthesize something to counter the effects of that drug?"

Coran held out four syringes. "This is the best we could do for now. You'll have to plunge this into your neck immediately after you've been hit by one of those darts. It should counter the effects of the drug almost instantaneously, although you still might experience some numbness."

"Coran, you're a miracle worker," Shiro said, as Coran handed each of them a syringe. "All right. Pidge, you hitch a ride with Hunk. Let's get to the Lions."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Awareness returned before Keith regained control of his muscles. His hand twitched, feeling slowly returning to his limbs, accompanied by pins and needles. It was harder to shake off the lingering effects of the drugs this time. He was unsteady and disoriented and his skin felt flushed, like he was running a light fever. His mouth and throat were so dry he was having trouble swallowing.

And then the pain hit him. His head was pounding in time to his heartbeat and his entire body was _throbbing_ like he'd been beaten with sticks over and over until there wasn't a part of his skin that wasn't bruised.

Keith gritted his teeth until the pain finally dulled. As the drugs worked their way out of his system, his mind cleared a little and he was able to take stock of his injuries. His head still felt like it might explode any minute and he definitely had a few cracked ribs. The skin around his left eye felt stretched and hot and his cheekbone and jaw ached. When he ran his tongue over his bottom lip, he grimaced at the sting. Definitely split and swollen. At least all his teeth were still there.

It could be worse. The aliens had been pretty pissed off; he was kind of surprised they hadn't killed him on the spot. He figured his armor had taken the brunt of the blows, and his kidnappers probably still needed him for something or they wouldn't have kept him alive in the first place.

His armor was gone now though. He'd been stripped down to the black undergear – the aliens obviously weren't taking any chances this time – and his wrists had been shackled to a metal ring in the floor behind him. The muscles in his legs were cramping up and he realized he'd probably been kneeling ever since they'd shoved him into this cell. It was too dark to be able to make anything out. He tried to stretch out his legs in front of him but when he attempted to move his feet something tightened painfully around his ankles.

Great. Looked like he was stuck in this position for a while. No escaping this time.

His mind wandered to the other paladins. To Shiro. Keith hoped they were okay, that they were safe. Red was likely still offline or she'd have probably been razing the whole place to the ground by now to get to him.

It felt like hours passed before someone finally entered the cell. He was starting to feel a little woozy; he hadn't been given any food or water since he'd been taken and although he had no idea how long ago that was, he was painfully aware that his body was beginning to flag at the lack of any kind of nourishment.

Dull light spilled into the cell through the open doorway and he squinted up at the tall, dark silhouette standing before him. Then the cell was plunged back into darkness when the door slammed shut and Keith tensed, his gut clenching at the knowledge there was someone in the cell with him now and he couldn't _see_ anything.

But after a few seconds small lights lining the walls began to glow. It was an eerie, bluish light, too faint for Keith to make out much but it was enough to discern vague details about the Samorian in front of him.

The guy looked pissed.

Keith returned the glare with a scowl of his own. _They_ kidnapped _him_ ; what did they have to be mad about?

"One of the guards you attacked has died," the Samorian growled.

Oh.

Keith licked his lips. "I was defending myself. You _kidnapped_ me." He hated how hoarse his voice sounded.

"You are Galra."

"Yeah. Doesn't mean I'm about to go around slaughtering or enslaving everyone."

"That is what the Galra do."

"Not all Galra!" Keith exclaimed, struggling to keep a lid on his temper. "I'm a Paladin of Voltron, my duty is to defend the universe."

"The Galra cannot be trusted. In time you will poison the minds of the other paladins and turn Voltron against us. It is inevitable."

"I would never betray Voltron."

"Was not Zarkon a paladin once?"

Keith's eyes widened. "How…how do you know about that?"

"There have been rumors. So it is true."

Keith bit his tongue. Stupid. He'd said too much.

The Samorian crouched in front of him suddenly and Keith leaned back as far as he could, trying to suppress a shudder at the hot breath on his cheek. Too close. _Too close._

"You have been sentenced to death, Galra," the Samorian said.

"What?" Keith's eyes widened in shock, but then narrowed as his anger flared. "You held a trial without even giving me a chance to defend myself? Yeah, that's fair."

"We have all witnessed the crimes of the Galra. _You_ are Galra. There is little need for a trial."

"I helped save this planet _from_ the Galra!" Keith exclaimed.

"This time. Or perhaps you have your own plans for this planet and its inhabitants," the Samorian stated. "Your attempt to escape has only delayed the inevitable – our custom dictates a fallen soldier must be properly honored and entombed as soon as possible or his soul might not reach the Halls of the Dead. Your execution will be carried out immediately after this is done."

Without another word, the Samorian rose and left the cell, the rattle of the door closing behind him ringing in Keith's ears.

They were…they were going to execute him? Just like that?

Fear and anger rose from his chest into his throat, threatening to choke him. He didn't deserve this! All he'd done was help save this planet from the Galra and now they were going to punish him for stuff he had nothing to do with? Just because he was _Galra_?

Flames of despair licked at him. God, they were going to _murder_ him! Keith yanked on his restraints, pulled until the skin was scraped off his wrists and the cuts on his hands reopened, but even with the added lubricant the blood provided, he was unable to slip out of the cuffs digging into his wrists.

He let out a cry of frustration and fought back the wave of panic and terror that threatened to choke him. Closing his eyes tightly and clenching his jaw, he fought to get his breathing under control.

 _Patience yield focus. Patience. Yields. Focus. Breathe, Kogane. Get a grip, you're not dead yet._

After a long moment of battling his raging emotions, Keith finally managed to calm down and narrow his focus. He wasn't going to make things easy for them. When they came for him, he would fight. He'd fight with everything he had and bring down as many of them as he can.

If he had to go down, he'd go down swinging.

oOo

When the Samorians finally came for him, Keith's legs were cramping so badly it felt like they were on fire. Escape probably wasn't a realistic option at this point.

That didn't mean he wasn't going to at least try.

Three Samorians entered his cell and Keith hung his head and slumped his shoulders, feigning surrender. He winced but held still when two of the aliens grabbed his arms and dug their claws in, keeping him immobilized while the third undid the restraints around his wrists and ankles. They obviously weren't taking any chances this time.

The Samorians yanked him upright and Keith couldn't hold back a cry of pain when he tried – and failed – to stretch his legs. His captors laughed at him, dragging him out of the cell by his arms, and Keith scowled. It took him until they were halfway down the hall to finally get his legs to unbend enough to put his feet on the ground and try to take some of his own weight.

He let them drag him along a few more feet, flexing the muscles in his legs as much as he could to get the blood flow going, before abruptly digging in his heels and throwing his weight backwards. It wasn't enough for the guards to lose their grip on his arms, but it did make them stumble, which afforded Keith the opportunity to deliver a kick to the nearest Samorian's shin. It was nowhere near as powerful as his usual kicks, but at least it made the guy release his arm.

Taking full advantage of the guards' apparent surprise, Keith spun and slammed his fist into the stomach of the guy that was still holding his other arm in a death grip. Unfortunately, this Samorian was apparently made of sterner stuff as he merely grunted and tightened his hold, making Keith gasp when the sharp claws broke the skin of his forearm and dug in even further.

Then something slammed into the back of his neck, and the world went black.

When Keith next opened his eyes, he was still being dragged down hallways and he guessed he'd probably only lost consciousness for a few seconds. Either that or wherever they were taking him was a long way from his cell.

His head was _pounding._ It felt like his skull was caving in, crushing his brain in the process, and it was making him feel sick. Not that there was anything in his stomach to throw up if it came to that.

The pull on his arms as he was being dragged hurt his ribs and he tried to get his feet under him again to take some of the strain off, but his legs refused to obey, his nerves instead sending all kinds of pain signals to his brain. Which only made his head hurt worse.

The light in the hallways was becoming brighter, the crystals on the walls that had been the primary source of light before now no longer necessary. Keith managed to lift his head enough to see they were headed towards two big double doors that almost reached to the ceiling. They were open, letting light pour into the hallways, as well as a shockwave of sound.

Keith braced himself as he was dragged through the opening, squinting at the brightness. He was being hauled into some kind of courtyard, a crystalline dome letting in pale light. There was a large gathering of Samorians.

They reached a scaffold and Keith was yanked up the steps to a raised platform. Two of his guards wrenched his arms above his head, lifting him off his feet and securing his wrists to two separate rings suspended about seven feet off the platform. His legs were spread apart and his ankles were shackled to two more rings that protruded from the floor. Then his jaw was forced open and what felt like a strip of leather was shoved into his mouth, pulled tight between his teeth.

He was strung up like a lamb headed for slaughter.

The pain from the strain on his body almost stole his breath, and his chest heaved in a desperate effort to draw in enough air through his nose. He tried to distract himself from an increasing sense of panic – he was going to die – by focusing on the people that had gathered in front of him.

The crowd was kept at a slight distance from the scaffold by a low wall of loosely stacked, fist-sized rocks. There were women, even children in the crowd. They were all watching him, shouting, taunting. It hurt to see that kind of deep hatred directed at him.

It took him a moment to notice the two big screens mounted on either side of the courtyard, and another moment to realize that he apparently was the star attraction, splayed out on the screens like he was some kind of rock star at a concert. Only these people weren't his fans.

One of the Samorians that had been standing close to the scaffold climbed the platform. He clearly wasn't a guard; he was wearing some kind of ceremonial robes, long and flowing, beige with flaming gold highlights.

The man faced the audience. "My fellow Loyalists, after ages of being tyrannized by the Galra, of being taken, tortured and watching our families being murdered, we have finally managed to capture a Galra that we can hold accountable, that we can punish, for the Galra's crimes," he said, voice booming, easily carrying to the back of the crowd. The crowd roared in response and the man turned towards Keith, an ugly grin on his face, showing off sharp teeth.

"He might not look like a Galra," the man continued, walking around Keith in a slow circle. Keith craned his neck to try and keep him in sight. "But we have irrefutable proof that Galra blood runs strong in his veins."

A chorus of angry shouts rose from the crowd, but it died off when a Samorian woman pushed her way to the front.

" _This_ is the great Galra warrior you captured?" she addressed the ceremony guy, halting a few steps from the scaffold, her voice just as loud as his had been. "The one you want us all to exact our revenge on? He is just a boy!"

The crowd was silent, listening closely. This woman obviously must have authority here. Keith felt a small spark of hope in his chest.

"He may look like a boy, but he murdered Merek, Sina," Ceremony Guy responded. "He is a ruthless killer, like all Galra."

Now Keith was fuming. He was _not_ a ruthless killer! And if he hadn't been gagged he would've told them so! He understood now the reason behind the gag; apparently not everyone agreed with the hardliners' methods. If Keith had been able to speak, to defend himself, he might have been able to garner some sympathy among the crowd. And he could've told them he was a goddamn Paladin of Voltron! Did these people even know about that or had Ceremony Guy and his hardliner cronies just fed them a whole bunch of lies?

"Are _we_ any better if we turn this boy into a martyr?" the woman demanded, angrily pointing at Keith. "If we punish _him_ for all the crimes the Galra have committed against us?"

A quiet murmur rose from the crowd and Keith noticed several people nodding and whispering urgently to each other. Others, however, were starting to lose patience, booing and shouting until the woman shook her head and spoke again, addressing the crowd behind her this time.

"If murdering this boy in cold blood is what you need to feel better, I will not stop you. I know many of you have lost entire families to the Galra. But I want no part in it." Without even so much as glancing at Keith, the woman turned around and disappeared back into the crowd, taking a young boy by the hand and pulling him along as she went.

Keith stared after her helplessly, the fragile feeling of hope dying in his chest. _No… No, don't leave!_

There was another murmur when a string of other people who apparently agreed with the woman began to push their way to the back of the crowd. That still left a lot of people there, including children.

Keith couldn't fathom it – why the hell would anyone bring their kid to an execution?

Ceremony Guy turned to address the remaining crowd once more. "Now that only the true Loyalists remain, let us continue the proceedings." He gestured towards Keith. "This Galra soldier has been sentenced to death by the Loyalist High Council in punishment for the crimes the Galra have committed against our people. You may use these rocks-" Ceremony Guy pointed at the low wall of rocks that separated the scaffold from the crowd, and Keith's heart jumped in his throat. Oh god, they were going to _stone_ him?!

His heart pounded in his ears so loudly that for a moment it drowned out even Ceremony Guy's booming voice. They were going to stone him! They were going to _stone_ him!

Trying to reign in his panic, he closed his eyes, desperately trying to establish a connection with Red, but there was nothing there. Nothing. Wait. There was something, but it was faint, like Red was struggling to wake from a deep slumber. It wasn't enough. He couldn't reach her!

"-for ages the Galra have tortured us," Ceremony Guy was saying, "turned us into slaves, _murdered_ us! Mere veliums ago this 'boy' killed another one of our brothers! No more!"

The crowd erupted in raucous agreement, surging forward, eager to carry out his punishment with their own hands. Keith braced himself, his heart thundering in his ears, chest heaving in panic. This was it, they were gonna kill him!

But Ceremony Guy held up a hand and the crowd halted, an annoyed buzzing sound rippling around the courtyard. "Domanian shall have the honor of flinging the first rock. Merek was his father. It is only justice."

A hushed murmur of agreement rose from the crowd, and the people at the front parted a little to allow a young man access to the wall of rocks. Keith watched him select one carefully and then walk up to the scaffold, stopping a few feet away.

It was hard to tell with Samorians given that their skin and facial structure was so different from humans, but the young man's height and build suggested he wasn't much older than Keith himself, maybe even around the same age. But the all-consuming hatred that burned in the young Samorian's eyes as he glared at Keith cut Keith deeply. It shook him to the core that anyone could hate him this much.

Still, Keith met the young man's gaze dead on. He tried not to think of Shiro, of the other paladins, of Red, Allura, Coran – if he did that he might crack. He refused to give them the satisfaction. He wasn't panicking now. He refused to plead or beg. If this was how he was going to go out, so be it. Maybe his death would at least mean something to these people.

The young man's scowl deepened and he raised the hand he was holding the rock with. Keith closed his eyes and prepared himself for the pain.

He heard the crowd cheer before he felt the rock graze his cheek, scraping his skin, but not doing too much damage. He opened his eyes and saw the disappointment on the young man's face, before he was swallowed up by the crowd that once again surged forward. This time no-one stopped them from grabbing the rocks.

The second rock that was hurled at Keith missed. The third smashed into his kneecap and he let out a muffled cry at the pain that lanced up his leg. The fourth hit his shoulder, the jagged edges of the rock tearing his suit and cutting his skin. Another rock got him in the stomach and Keith instinctively wanted to double over in pain, to curl into himself, but he couldn't move, couldn't do anything. Pain exploded in his face, the crunching sound as the cartilage in his nose was smashed loud in his ears, and Keith screamed, nearly choking on the gag in his mouth.

Agony enveloped him and all he could do was pray death would find him soon.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate it :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

When Shiro and the other paladins arrived at the designated clearing, three Samorians were waiting for them.

"Okay, Team," Shiro said, once the lions had touched down on the blue-green grass. "Let's go out and meet them, but keep your guard up."

When they emerged from their lions – the lions' protective barriers immediately going up – they were greeted by a familiar face. It was the guy that had put Keith through the Samorians' "inspection" when they had first entered the Queen's palace. Raznek.

The Samorians were standing near a cluster of vehicles that reminded Shiro of the speeders in those old Star Wars movies he used to watch with his dad back on Earth.

"Paladins," Raznek said, inclining his head by way of greeting as they approached him.

"Raznek," Shiro replied, unable to keep the scowl off his face. His hand hovered near his bayard.

"My Queen has asked me to once again offer our sincerest apologies for what has befallen the Red Paladin," Raznek said, and Shiro was surprised at how different his demeanor was compared to how he'd behaved when they first met back at the Palace. This time he was barely making eye contact, shoulders stooped. Everything about his posture screamed submission and Shiro wondered how much of a dressing down the Queen had given him.

"I understand you will take us to where he's being held?" Shiro said, relaxing his own stance slightly.

Raznek nodded and then pointed to the tree line at the edge of the clearing. "The extremists' base is situated approximately twenty dovari from here, hidden in the depths of the Forest of Dinaria. The vegetation is too dense for any vehicle to penetrate, so we will have to go in on foot."

Shiro had no idea what dovari were, but he hoped they were similar to minutes. "Okay," he said. "Anything else we need to know?"

"Yeah, like, any, you know, poisonous snakes or something we should be worried about?" Hunk added.

Raznek tilted his head. "Snakes?"

"He means if there's anything that wants to kill us in that forest," Lance clarified impatiently.

"There are some indigenous species that are poisonous, but I believe your armor will provide enough protection. There may also be extremist guards in the area; they will be hidden high in the trees where it is difficult to spot them. Anandra and Covarnis," Raznek said, gesturing at his two female companions, "are our best Spotters. They will see them from afar and warn us."

"Sounds good," Shiro said. "Lead the way."

Anandra and Covarnis disappeared into the trees, climbing up until Shiro could no longer see them. The trees of this forest were huge, much larger than even the giant Sequoia trees he'd seen on Earth. Once the two Samorians were out of sight, the rest of them set off into the forest.

They walked in silence, keeping a careful eye out for anything that might jump out at them from the underbrush.

After a while, they came upon what looked like a settlement, several modern-looking houses hidden among the trees. They halted a few feet away, using the shadows as cover while they surveyed the place. It was quiet; nobody seemed to be around, though the houses looked well-maintained and didn't appear abandoned.

"Where is everybody?" Lance asked in a low voice.

"Uh…maybe in that stadium over there?"

Stadium? Shiro turned to see Pidge pointing at a hill just on the edges of the settlement. It took him a moment to realize it was indeed a building, covered by what looked like green-blue moss, making it blend in perfectly with its surroundings.

It wasn't quite a stadium, or at least if it was, it was much, much smaller than the average stadium on Earth, but it did seem to have a dome in its center.

Raznek nodded. "You are correct, Green Paladin," he told Pidge. "These types of buildings are often where public executions are carried out."

Shiro balled his fists. "What kind of resistance can we expect?"

"Typically, these extremist factions are relatively small. Perhaps a hundred people in all, and a large number will be untrained civilian followers. I estimate there to be no more than forty trained soldiers," Raznek replied, turning to Shiro. "We will not be able to go in with you. Queen Ditaria does not wish to incite a civil war."

"Fair enough," Shiro said. "But I hope she realizes that we will do whatever's necessary to get Keith back."

Raznek inclined his head. "She does."

"Sounds like your Queen's letting us do the dirty work," Lance muttered, and Shiro couldn't help but agree with him.

Raznek didn't deny it. Instead, he produced a scroll. "We cannot go in with you, but I can provide a map of the building."

"You've got the blueprints?" Pidge asked, surprised.

Raznek turned to stare at her. "They are not blue," he said, clearly not comprehending. "They are in black and white."

"What? No, I mean- nevermind," Pidge said, flapping a hand. "Where did you get this map?"

"This used to be one of our outposts," Raznek replied. "It was abandoned quite some time ago, but we still have records and maps of it in our archives. It might not be completely accurate."

Shiro accepted the paper. "Thank you."

Raznek inclined his head once more. "Good luck, Paladins." With that, he turned and disappeared back into the trees. The two other Samorians were nowhere to be seen, but Shiro assumed they had joined Raznek.

"Pfft. 'Good luck, Paladins.' Right," Hunk said with a scoff. "Like he means it."

Shiro sighed. "Hunk."

"Sorry."

Shiro opened the scroll and examined it closely. The layout of the building was pretty straight forward: it was a circular building with only two levels and at its center some kind of courtyard. All in all, it looked like a relatively small stadium or arena with-

Arena.

Shiro's breath caught. No. No, not another arena, not-

"-okay? Shiro?"

Shiro's senses snapped back into focus. "W-what?"

Lance, Pidge and Hunk were staring at him.

"You okay?" Lance asked, looking both scared and worried. "Are you back with us?"

Shiro swallowed and took a moment to absorb his surroundings. Keith. They were here for Keith. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." He cleared his throat and spread the scroll out on the ground so the rest of them could take a proper look.

"The best entry point seems to be here," Shiro said, pointing at a door on the west side of the structure. "Once we're inside, the quickest way to the courtyard seems to be through this passageway here. There's a set of stairs that looks like they lead up to a balcony; it'll give us a good vantage point."

"Wait, why are we focusing on the courtyard?" Hunk asked. "Shouldn't we check the rooms or, like, cells, or something?"

"Remember they wanted an audience for whatever they planned to do to Keith. The courtyard's where it'll happen."

"You mean, you think they're already-" Lance began, before cutting himself off. "Okay, we need to get in there _now_."

Shiro nodded, folding the map and tucking it away.

"But what if the halls are crawling with guards?" Hunk asked. He looked nervous.

"We do what we have to to get Keith out of there," Shiro said, aware of how grim he sounded. "Try not to hit any of the civilians, but if they try to get between us and Keith…"

"Right," Pidge said, her jaw set in the kind of determination she had when she was trying to crack a particularly challenging alien computer code.

They carefully checked the perimeter before scoping out the entrance. There were two guards stationed in front of the door that led into the building. Shiro activated his Galra arm and made short work of them. Hunk dragged their unconscious bodies into the bushes.

When they entered, the hallway was surprisingly empty. Crystals lined the walls, giving off a soft bluish glow that was just enough to see by.

They didn't waste time, immediately setting off down the hallway that would lead them to the passageway – Shiro taking point, Lance bringing up the rear. They met very little resistance; four patrolling guards were easily dispatched and a fifth never even knew what hit him.

"Wait, guys," Pidge whispered suddenly.

Shiro glanced over his shoulder and saw that she'd halted in front of a door. "What is it?"

"That last Samorian was guarding this door," Pidge said in a low voice. "There must be something important in there. Shouldn't we check it out?"

"We don't have time!" Lance hissed.

Shiro hesitated. He was reluctant to slow down their progress and breaking down that door was inevitably going to cause noise, potentially attracting unwanted attention. On the other hand…

"What if Keith's in there?" Hunk voiced what Shiro was thinking.

It seemed unlikely they would still have Keith locked up, but that soldier had been guarding _something_.

"Stand back," Shiro said, examining the door carefully. The door itself was solid, made of some kind of metal, but the frame and hinges consisted of a weaker material. "Keep your bayards ready."

It took a few solid kicks, but eventually the frame splintered and the door swung inward. All four of them burst inside.

Keith wasn't there.

But his armor was.

The room appeared to be an armory, several items that looked like weapons and shields displayed in racks that stood against the walls. On a table in the center of the room was Keith's armor, laid out like a skeleton. There were smears of red and blue on the white plating. Shiro swallowed.

"Oh no…" Lance whispered, white-faced.

"That-that's not Keith's blood, is it? It's not, right? Tell me it's not," Hunk was rambling, breathing heavily.

Pidge just stared, looking even paler than Lance.

Shiro had to wrestle with his own rising panic for a moment, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, before turning to the others.

"Guys, listen to me," he said, trying to project a sense of calm. "This doesn't mean anything. They only have the armor, not his undergear, which means he's probably still wearing that. We can still save him."

He would forever be proud of the way all three of the younger paladins swallowed their panic and horror in that moment. They still looked impossibly scared, but they nodded at him with determination.

"All right," Shiro said, forcing a smile that he hoped looked reassuring. "Let's grab his armor and go get him."

They stuffed Keith's armor, bayard and Marmora blade into one of their collapsible bags, checked the corridor and moved back out. As they neared the passageway, they became aware of noise, of an uproar filtering through the wall beside them.

Shouting. Cheering.

Shiro knew what that meant.

Heart pounding and sweat prickling the back of his neck, Shiro broke into a run. He barely even registered the two guards standing outside the door that led to the passageway; he was leaping over their limp bodies before he even realized he'd taken them down.

Throwing caution to the wind, he flung open the door and was met with a blast of sound. The shadows cast by the balconies above him provided enough cover for him to remain unseen as he tried to assess the situation. There was a crowd of Samorians, all standing with their backs to him, but from this angle he couldn't look over their heads to see what was going on. The stairs that would take him up to the balcony was just to his right and he sprinted up the steps, Pidge, Hunk and Lance close on his heels.

The balconies were empty. Apparently, the number of followers the extremists had in this settlement was not enough to fill the whole stadium, for which Shiro was thankful.

Keeping their heads down, they found a spot that would give them a good view of what was happening. Shiro gritted his teeth; the cacophony below grated on his nerves and scratched at memories that, right now, he wanted to stay buried.

Once in position, Shiro risked a glance over the railing.

The blood froze in his veins.

He was looking straight at a close-up of a bruised and bloodied face, and it took him a moment to even recognize it; parts of it were swollen and the nose was obviously broken…

"Oh my god…"

"That- is that-? Oh god…" Pidge stammered.

Beside Shiro, Hunk turned away and retched.

Keith. It was Keith. And he was still alive – bloodied and battered, but alive.

Then Keith moaned, the sound amplified by the screen, his head jerking involuntarily, and Shiro whipped around to see what was happening down in the courtyard.

Keith was strung up by his arms and legs on a platform, helpless, and- the crowd was throwing rocks at him! Oh god, they were _stoning_ him?!

"Hunk, c'mon, get it together, man," Lance said suddenly from Shiro's other side, not bothering to keep his voice low. "We've got to do something!"

Shiro quickly assessed the situation; the balconies weren't very high off the ground – maybe about twelve feet. They could easily jump it, using their jetpacks to slow their momentum. There were about sixty, maybe seventy, civilians in the crowd, including a number of women and children. Twenty armed guards were scattered around the courtyard, most of them lining the walls and an additional five stationed near the platform Keith was on, presumably to prevent the crowd from actually storming the platform and lynching him.

"Lance, fire off a couple of warning shots," Shiro ordered, as he watched another rock hit its mark.

"Warning shots? Shiro, they're _killing_ -"

"Warning shots. NOW, Lance!"

Lance didn't waste any more time. He gripped his bayard tightly, took careful aim and fired.

Shiro watched the ground explode in front of a Samorian male that had been about to hurl another rock at Keith. Two more shots followed, kicking up dirt and dust, and suddenly people in the crowd began to scream and mill about in a panic, and Shiro was glad the Samorians had the same mob mentality humans did when in a crowd and threatened.

Shiro threw a quick glance over his shoulder to ensure that Hunk had recovered from his bout of retching, before activating his Galra arm. "Lance, stay up here and lay down covering fire."

"You got it," Lance replied.

"Hunk, Pidge, you're with me."

"What are we going to do?" Hunk asked, face pale.

"We're going to get down there and grab Keith. Follow my lead, and do what you have to," Shiro instructed. He barely waited for Hunk and Pidge to nod their understanding before leaping over the railing.

Shiro was moving almost before his feet hit the ground. The courtyard was a lot emptier now, a large part of the original crowd already having fled the scene with small groups still trying to make their way to the exits as fast as possible.

That left the guards. And they were looking pretty pissed.

Dodging a straggling pair of panicked Samorians, Shiro ducked under a machete that was swung in his direction, aimed at lobbing off his head. There was the sound of Lance's blaster going off and the guard the weapon belonged to went down before Shiro even had a chance to move in for a punch.

"Thanks, Lance," Shiro said, immediately charging ahead.

"No problem," Lance replied. "I got your back. Or, front. Or- whatever."

Shiro heard Pidge's snort even over the din of battle.

Shiro pressed on, focusing on getting to Keith, tearing through the guards that got through Lance's defense. It suddenly felt like there were a lot more guards than the twenty-five he'd counted before they went in. He only dimly registered Lance's bayard going off in rapid succession, as well as the occasional blast from Hunk's bayard behind him.

Four of the five guards that had been stationed in front of the platform left their posts and came at him; they were the last Samorians standing between him and Keith and he would tear them apart if he had to.

Still, four against one weren't great odds, especially considering the fact that the average Samorian was about two heads taller than Shiro and slightly bulkier too. But then Pidge's grapple shot past his arm, catching one of the Samorians off-guard as it looped itself around his torso, pinning his arms to his sides. A crackle of green light later and the Samorian was a twitching mess on the ground.

Hunk's blaster took care of another one, which left Shiro with much better odds. He dropped down and swept one guard's legs out from under him and slammed his Galra prosthetic into the other guy's crotch on his way back up. The man went down with a scream of pain and when Shiro turned to finish off the other one, Pidge was already standing over the guard's limp body, her bayard still faintly crackling.

Shiro stormed up the steps to the platform, and froze when he got to the top.

He'd forgotten about the fifth guard.

The man was standing behind Keith, ducking down a little, using Keith as a shield while at the same time holding what looked like a dagger to Keith's throat. Keith hung from his bonds, completely limp. He didn't seem to be aware of what was going on. God, was he even still alive? Had they taken too long? He looked so bad-

 _Focus._

"I will kill him if you come closer. You cannot save him," the man said, his lips stretching in an awful grin.

"Wanna bet?" Lance muttered over the comms.

Shiro's heart was hammering. He knew what Lance was planning to do. Lance was a good shot, a very good shot, but…if his aim was even slightly off, he could hit Keith. Or if the man wasn't immediately incapacitated, he could still slit Keith's throat.

Shiro briefly closed his eyes. "Lance." It wasn't an admonition. It wasn't a question. He wasn't sure what it was.

Lance understood anyway. "Don't worry, I've got this. Just keep him talking."

Keep him talking? Easier said than done. But one look at Keith, and suddenly it wasn't so hard. "How could you even do this? He fought for you," Shiro growled, pointing at Keith. "He would've _died_ for you!"

The man scoffed. "He is Galra," he spat, like that explained everything. "He may have fought on your side this time, but he would have betrayed you, and us, eventually."

Shiro's anger threatened to choke him. It was just such a baseless accusation. Galra or no, Shiro didn't think there was anyone with a greater sense of loyalty than Keith.

"The Galra have slaughtered and enslaved my people for ages," the man continued, loosening his hold on Keith slightly while gesturing. "It is time someone-"

A shot rang out.

The man collapsed to the floor with barely even a sound, and for a moment it felt like time had frozen solid.

"Nice work, _Sharpshooter_ ," Pidge said, breaking the spell.

Shiro surged forward, racing to Keith's side. "Hunk, Pidge, help me get him down!"

Hunk immediately joined him, but he was clearly unsure of how to proceed, staring at Keith, hands hovering.

"Just keep him from falling while we untie him, okay?" Shiro told him, and that seemed to snap Hunk out of it.

His scared and rather queasy expression was replaced with one of determination, and he nodded, gingerly wrapping an arm around Keith's back, which appeared to be the only part of Keith's body with minimum damage.

While Pidge got to work on the bindings around Keith's ankles, Shiro had to use his jetpack to reach the bonds that secured Keith's wrists to the rings above him, but he was able to slice through them easily with his Galra hand.

Keith sagged into Hunk's arms. Hunk shifted his grip and very gently lowered him to the floor.

Heart thundering in his chest, Shiro immediately flung himself down beside his friend. "Keith! Keith, can you hear me?" He carefully brushed some of Keith's hair out of his face, and gasped at the damage it revealed.

Keith's face was _covered_ in blood, and there were deep, dark gashes on Keith's cheek and forehead, the latter showing a hint of bone. The parts of the skin that weren't bloody showed heavy bruising and swelling.

The gag had been pulled so tight the edges were cutting into Keith's cheeks, but Pidge was already working on removing it. She looked ready to murder someone.

Shiro spared a moment to take a quick look at the rest of Keith's body and concluded it wasn't in much better shape than his face. His undergear was torn in half a dozen places, revealing jagged lacerations that were steadily oozing blood, and his right knee was swollen to about three times its normal size.

Keith's breaths were quick, ragged gasps, and while the fact that Keith was breathing meant he was alive, it was still a bad sign. Worried about broken bones and internal injuries, Shiro was overcome by a sudden sense of urgency.

He returned his attention to Keith's face and noted in passing that Pidge was now holding onto one of Keith's wrists, which struck him as odd until he saw the state Keith's hands were in – they were covered in small, bloody cuts, and in some places it looked like the skin had been scraped off.

"Keith? C'mon, buddy, talk to me," Shiro pleaded. "Can you hear me? Can you open your eyes for me? Keith!"

Keith remained unresponsive, and Shiro's heart sank. They needed to get him to the castle NOW. "Okay, buddy, it's okay, we've got you," Shiro murmured, even though Keith probably couldn't hear him. "We'll get you to a healing pod and you'll be good as new. It'll be fine."

Shiro hated having to move him, but they simply didn't have a choice. He carefully slid an arm under Keith's knees and Hunk helped him to get his other arm around Keith's shoulders.

When Shiro stood up, Keith jerked in his arms and made a sound in the back of his throat that was a cross between a cry and a whimper, and he coughed – a harsh, wet cough, and suddenly there were tiny specks of red on Shiro's chest plate.

Oh god. Did something just puncture a lung?

Keith was gasping, eyes screwed tightly shut.

"Keith- I'm sorry, just- just hold on, okay? Please, Keith, hang on." Shiro was aware he was rambling. He didn't care.

"What is it? What's going on?" Lance was demanding. "C'mon, guys, talk to me! Is- is Keith-?"

"He's alive," Pidge replied curtly. "Is the coast clear?"

"For now, but you'd better hurry."

Shiro nodded, squashing his rising panic. "Lance, make your way back down to the door and check the corridor. We'll meet you there."

Pidge and Hunk moved to flank him without being told, bayards out and ready, and Shiro tightened his hold on Keith as much as he could without hurting him even more.

Running with Keith in his arms was difficult; Shiro was having trouble keeping himself from squeezing him while at the same time trying to keep him as steady as possible.

When they met Lance at the door, he took one look at Keith and all the color drained from his face, eyes bulging and jaw dropping.

"Lance, take point," Shiro told him, trying to keep Lance from freaking out. "Keith's hanging in there, but we have to go."

Lance tore his gaze away from Keith with difficulty, but he nodded and gripped his bayard tighter. "Coast is clear."

They ran, back the way they'd come. Shiro kept expecting reinforcements to jump out of the many doors along the corridors but it didn't happen, and most of the guards they'd taken down on the way in were still out cold. Lance's bayard took care of the rest. There was no sign of civilians. Shiro couldn't shake the feeling something bad was about to happen.

Once outside, they bolted towards the trees. They were seconds away from reaching cover when Lance's hand suddenly snapped to his neck, and Shiro's mouth went dry. No!

"Pidge, Hunk, shields up! Cover Lance, NOW! Help him!" he shouted without breaking his stride. He needed to get Keith to the relative safety of the trees before he could go back for Lance.

Shiro dashed into the forest seconds later. He threw his gaze around, frantically looking for a place to hide Keith, but when he glanced back to check on his teammates Hunk was already dragging a stumbling Lance by the arm, Pidge trying to shield both of them as they made their way to the tree line. They were being pelted with darts and other, more lethal, armaments now and Shiro finally spotted the reinforcements he'd been dreading. About a dozen Samorian soldiers were closing in fast – Hunk, Lance and Pidge weren't going to make it!

And then suddenly the sound of weapon fire erupted from the trees around Shiro, and he ducked instinctively, gathering Keith closer to his chest. But the shots hadn't been aimed at him or his teammates – they were aimed at the Samorians, who instantly scattered as they took fire.

What the-?

"Black Paladin!"

Shiro looked up to see Raznek, Anandra and Covarnis perched high in the trees above him.

"We will hold them off!" Raznek called down. "Go! Get your Paladins to safety!"

Hunk, Pidge and Lance finally burst into the trees then, and Shiro nodded at the Samorian. "Thank you."

Raznek inclined his head before turning his attention back to the extremists.

"Lance, you okay?" Shiro demanded.

Lance flapped a hand at him. "I'm fine, just feeling a little tingly. Coran's stuff really works! How's Keith?"

Shiro glanced down at the injured paladin in his arms. "He's hanging in there. Let's go, guys!"

They crashed through the trees, not bothering with stealth this time, determined to get to the lions as fast as possible. It was hard on Keith; his legs kept getting snagged on branches and all the bouncing around was clearly hurting him. His breathing was growing steadily worse.

But he was alive. He was still fighting.

Finally, _finally_ , they reached the clearing and Shiro had never been so relieved to see his lion waiting for him. Apparently sensing his distress, Black was already lowering her jaw to let him in.

"Pidge, you're with me!" he ordered before racing up the ramp. Inside, they settled Keith as best they could, on his back on the floor near the pilot chair, a space blanket from the lion's emergency kit tucked around him.

"Look after him, Pidge," Shiro said, jumping into the pilot's seat.

"I'm on it."

Shiro spared a moment to make sure both Lance and Hunk were in their lions and ready to go before taking off, the Black lion leaping into the air.

His eyes kept straying back towards Keith. Pidge had sat down near him and placed Keith's head in her lap. She had a hand on his shoulder, probably as much for reassurance as for keeping him immobilized. The other hand was holding a compress to the worst of Keith's head wounds.

His coughing was getting worse.

"How is he?" Shiro asked.

"Not good," Pidge replied, and the tremor in her voice made Shiro want to push Black for just a little more speed.

Hunk and Lance were silent. They could probably hear Keith's harsh coughs through the comms.

"Allura, Coran, do you read?" Shiro said, suddenly remembering they had no idea what was going on.

"We're here, Shiro," Allura replied immediately.

"We've got Keith, but he's in bad shape. He needs a healing pod as soon as we get to the castle."

"Coran has already prepared one, Shiro," Allura said. "We will be waiting for you in the infirmary."

"Roger that."

Shiro was out of his seat the second Black touched down in the hangar. He knelt beside Keith and found his wrist underneath the blanket, squeezing it gently. "Keith, we're here, we're at the Castle of Lions. Everything's going to be fine, okay? You're going to be fine."

Keith didn't respond.

Shiro quickly gathered him up in his arms again and rushed to the infirmary, Pidge on his heels.

Allura gasped when she saw the state Keith was in and Coran gaped for a moment, before launching into action. Together, he and Shiro got Keith ready for the cryo pod, foregoing the cryo suit, while Allura tried to clean the blood off Keith's face as best she could. At Coran's go-ahead, Shiro lifted Keith from the examination table and settled him inside the pod.

Lance and Hunk skidded into the room just as the pod whooshed closed.

"How is he? Is he okay?" Lance demanded at the same time as Hunk blurted, "Keith's still alive, right? Tell me he's alive!"

Shiro let out a long breath and turned to them, suddenly tired down to his bones. "He's alive."

A small sound from behind him made Shiro spin back around, just in time to watch Pidge sit down hard on the steps in front of Keith's pod. She yanked her helmet off and threw it to the floor before burying her face in her hands.

His own heart aching, Shiro went to her, sitting down beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Hey. It's gonna be okay. Keith's stubborn, he'll keep fighting."

"Yeah, he'll pull through," Lance added, sitting down on Pidge's other side and offering a weak smile. "Mullet doesn't know how to quit, remember?"

Pidge looked up at them, eyes bright and cheeks flushed.

Hunk dragged a hand across his own eyes and sank down beside Lance. "Yeah, and I mean, Keith can't die 'cos he hasn't tried my extra special Tovarian sugar cookies yet."

That surprised a wet chuckle out of Pidge and even Shiro couldn't help but smile a little.

"Better have a batch ready for when he wakes up then," Pidge said, rubbing at her eyes, voice wobbly.

Shiro gave her a brief squeeze, before they lapsed into silence.

All they could do now was wait.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thanks again to everyone who left such lovely reviews! They're like little presents in my inbox and I treasure every single one. Thank you! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

Keith barely had a chance to register the chill on his skin and pull his eyes open before he was pitching forward. He tried to bring his arms up, but they were far too slow to respond and then he was falling, falling – until something snagged his arm and caught him around his waist.

Strong hands held him and suddenly there was a vice around his throat, memories of hands that were punishing and abusive crowding to the front of his mind, and he tried to jerk back.

"Let go of me!"

But the grip on his arm only tightened and Keith panicked – they were gonna kill him!

"Keith! Keith, calm down, buddy, it's me, it's Shiro. I've got you, you're safe."

It took a moment for the familiar voice to cut through the panic and memories, for the words to sink in. Breathing hard, he looked up and Shiro was there. So were Lance and Hunk and Pidge, all standing around him, and suddenly his knees threatened to buckle with relief.

"Oh," was all he managed to say.

"How do you feel?" Shiro asked.

His head hurt, his throat resembled a piece of sandpaper and he felt kind of weak and light-headed, but…he clearly wasn't dying. "Fine," he replied, realizing he was still leaning against Shiro. He tried to stand up straighter and take more of his own weight.

Lance rolled his eyes. "Dude, hasn't anyone ever told you that you're a _terrible_ liar?"

Keith scowled and pulled back further from Shiro just to prove that he was _fine_. Unfortunately, it was that exact moment the room chose to start spinning. Keith hastily tried to correct, but ended up completely overbalancing, stumbling backward and—

"Whoa!" Shiro exclaimed, catching him under one arm, hauling him upright, and suddenly Lance was there too, grabbing his other arm.

"Jeez, take it easy, Keith," Lance chided. "You still look, like, three shades paler than your usual pale."

"Let's get you to a chair," Shiro said, steering him to the doorway.

"Actually, uh…maybe you should, I dunno, get him to a shower first?" Hunk interjected. "Cos, you know…" He was waving his hands at Keith and only half-looking at him.

Keith looked down at himself, and his eyes widened. He was still in his undergear. His torn and very bloody undergear. His hands were also caked with dried blood and now that he thought about it, his face felt kind of itchy and sticky too. No wonder Hunk was barely even looking at him – he probably looked like a corpse!

"A shower would be good," Keith agreed.

"Very well," Allura spoke up from behind them. "A shower and change of clothes first, and then you really must eat something; you haven't had anything to eat in at least four quintents."

Keith's eyes widened. "Four quintents?!" Well, now he knew why he felt so weak, and why his throat was so damn dry.

"You were in a cryo-pod for three and you were…gone for almost a quintent and a half."

"Oh."

"C'mon, I'll help you to your room," Shiro said, tugging on his arm.

"Need a hand?" Lance asked.

Shiro glanced at Keith before shaking his head. "I've got him."

"I can walk," Keith insisted, irritated that they were talking about him in third person when he was _right there_.

"Of course you can," Shiro said in an appeasing tone. "It's just in case you fall."

Lance let go of Keith's arm and moved to stand beside Hunk and Pidge. "See you guys in the rec room then."

"I'll have the food ready!" Hunk called after them.

"You okay?" Shiro asked once he and Keith were on their way to Keith's room.

"Fine," Keith replied, allowing himself to lean on Shiro a little. "Just a little light-headed. And thirsty."

"I didn't mean physically."

Keith didn't look at him. He was kind of trying not to think about what had happened, preferring to deal with it the way he always dealt with traumatic stuff – ignore it until it went away. "I'm okay," he replied.

Shiro didn't push.

Halfway to his room, Keith found he was glad Shiro had insisted on accompanying him because his steps were becoming increasingly unsteady and he had to lean more and more of his weight on Shiro. He felt…weird, like his brain was remembering wounds that weren't there anymore.

"You uh…gonna be okay in the shower?" Shiro asked when they reached Keith's room.

Keith gave him a flat look.

Shiro raised his hands in surrender. "O-kay, I'll wait out here. Just call if you need anything."

Keith grabbed some clothes and shuffled into the bathroom. Catching a look at himself in the mirror above the sink, he froze. Holy crap, he really did look like a corpse! His hair was matted with dried blood and there were dark smears on his face. He shuddered and quickly turned on the shower.

After scrubbing himself clean, getting dressed and downing a glass of water, he felt a little better – stronger. A quick glance in the mirror confirmed that he no longer looked like a walking dead guy, although there were circles under his eyes and he still looked paler than usual.

Shiro was still waiting for him when he got out of the bathroom, but he was watching Keith with a strange expression on his face.

Keith frowned. "What?"

"Nothing, I just-" Shiro trailed off, then opened up his arms. "Is it okay if I-?"

Oh.

Keith smiled a little, stepping forward, and Shiro closed his arms around him.

"You scared the crap out of me," Shiro murmured.

"Sorry," Keith barely managed to force out past the sudden lump in his throat. He buried his face in Shiro's shoulder, his eyes suddenly hot. Aware that he was clinging, he tried to take a few deep, calming breaths, and Shiro's arms tightened a little around him in response.

They stood like that until Keith felt calm enough to be able to pull back and look Shiro in the eye again. To his surprise, Shiro looked about as wrecked as Keith felt.

"You okay?" Shiro asked.

Keith nodded. "You?"

Shiro smiled, reaching out again but this time to pat him on the shoulder. "Great, now that we've got you back."

Keith found himself returning the smile, the cold knot in his stomach unfurling a little.

"Ready to get some food? You must be starving."

Keith actually didn't feel very hungry, but he was eager to rid himself of the weakness and light-headedness that were still plaguing him.

With Shiro's help, Keith managed to make his way to the rec room mostly under his own power. He barely made it two steps into the room though before he was swept into a crushing hug by Hunk.

It took everything Keith had to stop himself from physically lashing out at being grabbed like that, his nerves obviously still pretty shot. He firmly reminded himself that Hunk was _not_ a threat.

"Oh man, Keith! It's so good to see you!" Hunk exclaimed.

"Hunk, you saw him an hour ago," Pidge pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but now he actually looks like _Keith_ again, and not like someone that just walked off the set of a horror movie, you know?"

"Uh…thanks?" Keith gasped. "Hunk, I kinda…"

"You're squishing him," Lance finished for him.

Hunk glanced back at Keith. "Oh! Sorry!" he said, immediately setting him back on his feet and releasing his hold on him. Then he quickly reached out to steady Keith when he teetered. "Whoa, okay, we really need to get some food in you."

Keith let Hunk guide him to a chair. A plate filled with food goo and a box of space juice were already waiting for him.

"How are you feeling, Keith?" Allura asked, standing close beside him.

"Better," Keith replied, taking a bite. And suddenly he was _ravenous_. Food goo had never tasted _so good_. The others joined him at the table and for a moment he enjoyed just being among his friends again, listening to their banter while he ate. But eventually his curiosity got the better of him. "So… how did you guys find me?" he asked in between bites.

Lance took that as his cue to launch into a colorful, and probably slightly dramatized, account of the past four days. Keith was surprised to learn about the role the Samorians loyal to the Queen had played in his rescue, especially Raznek, who hadn't exactly welcomed him with open arms when they'd first met. Which was putting it mildly.

Hearing about the state they'd found him in was hard, and he struggled to keep some memories from resurfacing and to keep his emotions under wraps.

"Sounds like it was a crazy few days," he said once Lance had wrapped up the story. Keith glanced around at all of them. "Thanks for…coming to get me."

Hunk snorted. "Well, I mean, did you think we wouldn't?"

Keith stared at him before quickly looking away. "Uh…no, of course not."

The rest of them abruptly fell silent.

"Oh my god, you did think that, didn't you?" Lance blurted.

Keith pushed his nearly empty plate aside, the mice immediately diving in to finish off the leftover goo. "No! I just- I…" He felt himself grow warm under their stares, and shoved away from the table. "I'm tired, I'm going to bed."

"Keith…" Shiro said.

But Keith couldn't look at him right now. His legs thankfully didn't fail him this time when he stood and moved to the door.

"Keith, wait!" Hunk called after him.

Keith didn't stop. He couldn't.

oOo

That night, sleep just wouldn't come. Every time he closed his eyes, angry, jumbled images played across the back of his eyelids. He even tried sleeping with the lights on, but that didn't help, nor did keeping a constant grip on his Marmora blade.

With a frustrated sigh he rolled out of bed and pulled on the nearest set of clothes before palming the door open and heading out. He didn't have a destination in mind – he was still too weak to go a few rounds with a gladiator and _survive_ , but maybe a walk would help clear his head a little.

He didn't make it far before he collided with someone who was just rounding the corner, and he would've crashed to the floor if a strong hand hadn't wrapped itself around his bicep and kept him upright.

"Keith!" Hunk exclaimed. "Quiznak, I'm sorry, man! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Keith replied, rubbing a sore spot on his chest. He'd never realized Hunk was this _solid_. "What are you doing up? It's two in the morning."

Hunk released his arm. "Yeah, I just couldn't sleep, man. You know, with everything that happened and stuff. What about you? You look exhausted, you should be in bed."

Keith shrugged. "Couldn't sleep either."

"Right," Hunk said, giving him a sidelong look. "So where were you headed? Dude, don't tell me you were gonna hit the training deck?"

Keith rolled his eyes. "I'm not _that_ stupid, Hunk. I was just gonna go for a walk."

"Oh," Hunk said. He hesitated, then asked, "Want some company?"

Keith stared at him. "Uh…sure?"

"Great!"

After only a few steps though, Hunk paused. "Actually, you need to come to the kitchen with me."

"What? Why?"

Hunk grinned at him, grabbing his wrist and towing him towards the kitchen. "You haven't tried my extra special Tovarian sugar cookies yet!"

"Your extra special…whats?" Keith said, bewildered.

When they got to the kitchen, Hunk nudged Keith towards a chair and then took out a plate covered with some kind of foil. It contained three oddly shaped cookies about the size of a donut.

"I baked them this afternoon to celebrate you being back with us and stuff, but then you uh…you left kind of quick so you didn't get a chance to try them," Hunk said, and Keith instantly felt bad for his abrupt departure earlier that evening.

"Sorry," he muttered.

Hunk waved him off. "Nah, dude, it's okay. I totally understand. You really need to try these cookies though," he said, unwrapping the foil from around the plate. "The others really like 'em – I barely managed to fight them off to rescue these three for you. Seriously, they're a bunch of vultures when it comes to these cookies."

Keith smiled. "Thanks for your heroic efforts then."

"Any time, dude. Now, c'mon, try one already!"

Keith wasn't really hungry, but Hunk was watching him with such hopeful anticipation that he didn't have the heart to refuse. So, he took a bite, chewing thoughtfully before his eyes widened. "Wow. These…are actually really good."

Hunk beamed and pumped his fist. "Yes, I _knew_ it! I knew you'd like 'em!"

Keith laughed and took another bite. Hunk sat down beside him and began to ramble about recipes and ingredients and his mom's cooking and after a while Keith's eyelids started to feel heavy. He valiantly tried to rouse himself several times and made an effort to nod at appropriate moments to show Hunk he was still listening, but it became a losing battle.

When he startled awake the next morning, Keith found himself in his own bed, wearing the clothes he'd pulled on hours before, a plate with two cookies on an improvised table beside him.

oOo

Allura arranged a meeting to take place with the Samorian Queen later that day.

Unwilling to expose her paladins to any more unnecessary danger, Allura had taken the castle into orbit around the planet as soon as Shiro and the other paladins had retrieved Keith. Rather than meeting the Queen in her palace on Samoria to discuss the status of their alliance, Allura had chosen to invite a delegation – the Queen herself and two of her most trusted advisors – to the Castle of Lions.

"Keith, could I speak with you for a moment?" Allura asked a few hours before the meeting was scheduled to take place.

Frowning, Keith followed her into the control room, which was empty except for the mice hanging out on one of the consoles. "What is it, Princess?"

She turned to look at him, an expression on her face that had him cross his arms uncomfortably.

"How are you feeling, Keith?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Keith replied, avoiding her gaze. "Uh…you?"

Allura smiled. "I am well, thank you, Keith. The reason why I have asked to speak with you is because I wanted you to have the last say in whether or not we will go through with our alliance with the Samorians."

Keith did a double-take. "You- I…what?"

"They are the reason we almost lost you, Keith. Thus far, they have proven to be a highly unreliable partner – extremist rebel groups or not – and at this point I am inclined to withdraw from our initial agreement."

Keith stared at her. Allura was willing to turn away a potential ally against the Galra, because of what had happened to _him_? "Have…have you discussed this with Shiro?"

Allura nodded. "He believes finding allies is important, but that we have no use for allies we cannot trust implicitly." Her brows drew together in a deep frown. "Keith, what they did to you was unforgivable."

Keith turned his gaze to the floor, chewing on his bottom lip as he mulled that over. "But…it wasn't the Samorian government that kidnapped me, was it?"

"No. It was a rebel group that captured you, but some of the fanatics must have infiltrated Queen Ditaria's palace – how else would they know about you being Galra?"

She had a point, but… Keith thought back to the way things were back on Earth, to how many governments struggled with rebel groups and fanatics they had no control over.

"They may not like me very much," Keith said finally, "but I don't think it would be fair to punish an entire race for something only a small group did. And we need all the allies we can get. They clearly hate the Galra so I think that when the time comes, we can trust them to join us in our fight against them."

Allura's eyes widened, but then her surprise faded into an expression that resembled…sadness? Pride? Keith couldn't be sure.

She gave him a soft smile. "You are a true Paladin of Voltron, Keith."

Heat crept into Keith's face. "Um…thank you."

Keith knew he'd made the right decision, but that didn't make it easier to keep his emotions in check when faced with the Samorian Queen and her two advisors later that day. The Queen apologized to him and vowed to bring the culprits to justice. Keith couldn't help but doubt her sincerity, and he was glad he wasn't expected to sit in on the diplomatic talks. He made his escape as soon as he could without seeming rude.

But unpleasant memories pushed at him aggressively for the rest of the day and now they were even haunting him in his sleep. He woke with a start barely two hours after finally dropping off. Keith gasped and swallowed, tasting that awful gag the Samorians had put on him.

Sitting up, he rubbed his face. He needed to do something to get his mind off of things. So he got up and changed out of his pajamas and into a t-shirt, pants and his boots. Stretching his arms above his head, he opened the door and strode into the hallway – and almost tripped over Pidge, who was sitting on the floor next to his door, back leaning against the wall, laptop resting against her knees.

Keith blinked at her. "Uh…Pidge? What are you doing here?"

Pidge squinted up at him. "Working on my computer."

"I can see that, but…why are you doing it _here_?"

"Why not here?" Pidge said with a shrug. "Where are you going?"

"Uh…I was gonna go train for a bit."

"Oh, cool, can I join you?" Pidge asked, already shutting down her laptop.

Keith stared down at her. She wanted to join him? Pidge _hated_ training. "You…want to spar with me?" he asked skeptically. "In the middle of the night?"

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Duh, why would I ask to join you if I didn't?"

Good question.

"Okay, uh…sure," Keith said, still bewildered.

They ended up practicing hand-to-hand. Keith didn't go easy on Pidge, but to be fair, she didn't go easy on him either, coming at him with everything she had, including some sneaky tricks she had up her sleeve and that Keith only barely managed to dodge. Every now and then he gave her a few pointers, and afterwards they summoned their bayards and teamed up against a gladiator.

After taking it down, they both sank to the floor, leaning their backs against the wall.

"We make a good team," Pidge said, still catching her breath.

Keith grinned at her, wiping at the sweat on his face with the back of his wrist. Nothing like a good fight to get the endorphins flowing. "We do."

"You gonna be okay?" Pidge asked.

Keith glanced at the rapidly forming bruise on his arm from a hit he'd taken for Pidge. "Yeah, it's nothing."

"I didn't mean just that."

Oh.

"I'll be fine," Keith said, pulling his knees up.

"You know…Lance was really worried about you."

Keith snorted. "Yeah, right."

"No, really. He was totally ready to go in there bayard blazing to get you out," Pidge said, glancing up at him. "We all were."

Keith said nothing, trying to process what Pidge was saying. A warm feeling was growing in the pit of his stomach.

"You know how I feel about my family, right?" Pidge continued.

Keith frowned at the non sequitur, confused. "Uh…yes? What do they have to do with anything?"

Pidge rolled her eyes and looked at him as if she was talking to a particularly dense person. "'They'? Keith, you're a _part_ of my family, genius."

"Oh." Keith swallowed, avoiding her gaze. That was- he didn't know what to say to that.

Pidge scooted a little closer to him until their arms were touching just a little. They sat in silence, Keith mulling over what Pidge had said.

The next morning, Keith woke up on the training deck with a terrible crick in his neck and his head pillowed on Pidge's shoulder.

oOo

Later that day, Red finally came back online.

Keith immediately took her out for a short spin in space. And man, he'd missed it. Missed _her_. The comforting presence in his mind, although she had been regretful and furious when she'd first reconnected with him, sensing what had been done to him while she'd been offline.

And she was still angry. Keith could feel it in her jerky movements as he maneuvered her through a nearby asteroid field.

Keith applied the brakes and brought her to a halt on the other side. "Hey," Keith said, putting his hand on the console for a moment. "I'm _okay_. It's over. You don't have to worry about me."

Red roared in response and it was filled with so much fury and sorrow that it took Keith by surprise. He knew Red was protective, but the current emotional outpour was overwhelming and it tugged at something within Keith that he really didn't want to deal with right now.

He closed his eyes and breathed. _Red. Calm down. Please. I'm alright._

Red let out another roar, but it was less emotionally-wrought, and eventually it died down to a low growl. Keith breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good kitty," he said with a small smile. "Ready to go back home?"

This time she purred in response.

"Wanna go back through the asteroid field or go around it?"

Red growled with indignation, and Keith grinned. "Through the field it is," he said, and gunned it.

oOo

That night Keith startled awake – someone was shaking him and his eyes flew open, heart racing. He felt disoriented, rattled, phantom pains ghosting along his skin.

"W-what?"

"Hey," a familiar voice said, and Keith's eyes immediately locked onto Lance, standing beside his bed. "You okay? You were yelling."

Keith swallowed, struggling to get a grip, and sat up. "Was not," he argued reflexively, though his voice sounded hoarse and his throat felt raw.

Lance rolled his eyes. "Seriously? You were too. I'm right next door and the walls aren't exactly soundproof, remember?"

Keith didn't respond, focusing on getting his breathing under control. He leaned back against the wall and pulled his legs up, scowling when Lance pulled up a chair beside him and sat down.

"You okay?" Lance asked again.

"I'm fine," Keith gritted out, not looking at him. He wished Lance would just leave.

Lance sighed. "You still don't trust us, do you?" he asked. He didn't sound angry, more like…resigned?

The question took Keith by surprise. "What? What are you talking about?"

"You didn't think we'd come for you," Lance said with a shrug. "That means you don't trust us."

Keith stared at him. "You want to talk about this now? I do trust you guys."

"Well, obviously you don't or you wouldn't have thought we'd—"

"It's not about trust, Lance," Keith interrupted, crossing his arms. He really did not want to talk about this.

"Then what is it about?"

"It's—" Keith's grip on his arms tightened. How could he possibly explain to Lance that, with the exception of Shiro, there had never been anyone in his life to look out for him? He'd always had to look out for himself, he'd always had to get _himself_ out of scrapes. There had never been anyone to bail him out when he was in trouble – and he'd gotten into trouble a lot.

How could he explain all that without sounding pathetic?

"Oh, wait, I get it," Lance said when Keith didn't continue. "You didn't think we were actually capable of rescuing you, right? That's it, isn't it? We're all inferior 'cos you have these mad fighting skills and stuff and we don't, huh? Well, _newsflash_ -"

"It's because nobody ever cared about what happened to me before, you dumbass!" Keith snapped.

Lance shut up.

"I can count on two fingers the number of people who've ever cared about me – one of them is Shiro and the other one's dead!" Keith continued, voice rising. "You get it now? Nobody ever came for me! Why would I think _you_ would?"

Keith bit his tongue and looked at his knees. Why was he even saying this? Damn Lance for making him talk while he was fresh from a nightmare and his guard was down.

"I'm sorry," Lance said after a moment of silence.

He sounded sincere, but Keith didn't want to look at his face right now. Didn't want to know what he would see there.

"I…shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that," Lance continued. "It's just that- I dunno. We're a _team_ , and…it kind of hurts to think you thought we would've just left you there. But…when you put it like that, I guess I can sort of see where you're coming from."

Keith sighed, scratching at a spot on his knee. "Look, I didn't even know what had happened to you guys, okay? I just hoped you were all okay and safe, that was pretty much as far as I got where rational thought was concerned. It's not like I thought you'd leave me there on purpose, I just…wasn't expecting a rescue."

"I get it," Lance replied, voice uncharacteristically quiet.

Silence reigned for a few minutes until finally Lance spoke up again.

"I uh…should probably let you go back to sleep," he said, standing up and putting the chair back.

"Sorry I woke you," Keith muttered.

"Ah, so you admit you were yelling!"

This time Keith did whip around to face Lance, opening his mouth to retort – but the smile on Lance's face was gentle and after a beat Keith found himself returning it.

Lance moved to the door, pausing just inside the doorway to look back over his shoulder. "Just so you know, there's a lot more than two people that care about you now, okay?" he said, just before the door closed behind him.

Keith stared after him for a long time.

oOo

The next morning they were finally ready to leave the Valarum system, and Keith breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Samoria shrink in the distance. And then Allura opened a wormhole and Samoria was gone entirely.

Now he could finally move on.

Shiro found him on the observation deck some time later.

"Hey," he said, joining Keith on one of the couches. "You doing okay?"

Keith looked at him. "Yeah, I'm doing…better."

Shiro raised his eyebrows. "I think I actually believe you this time."

"Okay. Thanks?" Keith said, his own eyebrow raised.

"I didn't mean it like that-" Shiro started, but cut himself off when Keith chuckled.

"It's okay, Shiro, I know what you meant."

Shiro smiled. "Good. So…are you feeling better because we're far away from Samoria now or-?"

"That, but I guess I also learned a few things."

"What kind of things?"

Keith squirmed. "Stuff about the team. About me."

"I'm getting the feeling you're not ready to share yet," Shiro said.

Keith gave him an apologetic look, and Shiro patted his shoulder. "It's fine, Keith. I'm just glad you're feeling better."

"Thanks."

Shiro rose to his feet. "Want to go beat up some gladiators?"

Keith's face split into a grin and he was halfway to the door before Shiro had even moved from his spot.

Shiro laughed, catching up to him quickly. "I'll take that as a yes."

\- End -


End file.
